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THE 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  TENNESSEE 


AND  THE  ADJACENT  STATES 


AND   THE 


STATE  OF  ABORIGII^AL  SOCIETY  IN  THE   SCALE  OF 
CIVILIZATION"  REPRESENTED  BY  THEM 


A  SERIES  OF  HISTORICAL  AND  ETHNOLOGICAL  STUDIES 


BY 

GATES    P.  ^™KUST0N 

COEBESPONDING  SECEETAEY  OF  THE  TENNESSEE    HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 


^ilxx&tvatetf* 


CINCINNATI 
ROBERT   CLARKE   &   CO 

1890 


Copyright,  1890, 
By  gates  p.  THRUSTON 


OFFICERS   -AND    MEMBERS 

OF    THE 

TENNESSEE    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY, 

AND    ESPECIALLY    TO 

JOHN    M.    LEA,    ITS    Honored    President, 
^15  Pofint^c  V5  ^ffoctionatofr  5n<?cri6c^. 


THEIR     ENCOURAGING    WORDS     FIRST     SUGGESTED     ITS     PUBLICA- 
TION,    AND     HAVE     CONSTANTLY     RELIEVED     THE 
LABORS    OF    ITS    PREPARATION. 


<=b^°^ 


PREFACE 


The  main  purpose  of  this  vohime  is  to  present  the  results  of 
recent  archaeological  investigations  m  Tennessee.  When  the  large 
aboriginal  cemetery  near  Nashville  was  discovered  and  explored 
about  two  years  ago,  at  the  instance  of  the  Tennessee  Historical 
Society,  I  undertook  the  duty  of  preparing  a  pamphlet  illustrating 
some  of  the  fine  types  of  pottery  and  other  objects  from  the  stone 
graves ;  but  the  material  worthy  of  illustration  accumulated  so  rap- 
idly that  it  was  found  impracticable  to  do  justice  to  it  in  the  modest 
way  contemplated,  and  the  "  pamphlet "  has  grown  gradually  into 
its  present  proportions.  It  became  necessary  to  consider  the  general 
subject  of  ancient  monuments  and  antiquities  in  Tennessee,  in  order 
to  properly  introduce  the  new  material  discovered,  and  thus  render 
the  publication  useful  to  a  larger  class  of  readers.  It  seemed  also 
desirable  to  include  a  more  complete  summar}^,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  large  number  of  students  in  Tennessee  specially  interested  in  its 
antiquities. 

As  the  aboriginal  remains  of  some  portions  of  the  neighboring 
states  are  very  similar  in  character,  I  have  illustrated  specimens 
from  these  states,  when  convenient  and  of  interest,  and  have  felt  at 
liberty  to  include  them  in  the  title  to  this  publication. 

The  subject  has  been  presented  in  a  series  of  historical  a7id  ethno- 
logical studies. 

Unfortunately,  engrossing  business  engagements  and  duties 
have  seriously  interrupted  the  leisure  necessary  to  the  satisfactory 
preparation  of  the  work.  Most  of  the  chajiters  have  been  written 
in  the  oflice  of  the  "  President  and  Attorney  "  of  the  State  Insur- 
ance Company  of  Tennessee,  where  contracts  and  mortgages,  and 
old  flints  and  vessels  from  the  graves,  have  been  piled   upon  the 

(V) 


VI  PREFACE. 

same  office  desk,  during  the  past  year  or  more;  but  my  antiquarian 
friends  may  be  assured  that  the  "  old  relies  and  pots  "  have  received 
an  ample  share  of  consideration,  and  have  been  regarded  as  fully  as 
interesting  and  important  as  the  more  commercial  treasures.  These 
double  duties,  I  trust,  may  be  accepted  as  my  apology  for  a  few 
repetitions  and  an  occasional  lack  of  care  and  consistency  in  the 
preparation  of  some  portions  of  the  volume. 

In  a  lecture  before  the  Tennessee  Historical  Society,  in  1888, 
upon  "Ancient  Society  in  Tennessee,"  subsequently  published  in 
the  Magazine  of  American  History,  this  subject  M^as  considered  at 
some  length.  The  general  propositions  therein  set  forth  have  not 
been  materially  changed ;  but  after  the  examination  of  a  great  many 
new  specimens  brought  to  light  since  that  time,  I  find  some  expres- 
sions  contained  in  the  former  publication  should  be  modified.  I 
have  also  endeavored  to  present  the  special  views  then  advanced 
more  clearly  and  definitely. 

The  preparation  of  the  engravings  (which  will,  of  course,  be  re- 
garded as  the  most  useful  part  of  the  work)  has  been  an  arduous 
task.  I  regret  that  many  of  them  are  inartistically,  and  even 
crudely,  executed,  but  it  has  been  impracticable  to  send  the  delicate 
and  valuable  specimens  to  the  centers  of  the  engraving  arts  to  be 
sketched  and  illustrated.  I  have,  therefore,  been  compelled  to  con- 
tent myself  with  such  facilities  in  this  department  as  were  afiforded 
at  home.  I  have  endeavored,  however,  to  illustrate  the  objects 
with  exactness  of  details  and  truthful  expression,  I  have  also  had 
many  of  the  specimens  photographed  in  groups  and  photo-engraved 
by  the  Moss  Engraving  Company,  of  New  York,  directly  from  these 
impressions,  thus  reproducing  the  original  objects  with  photo- 
graphic fidelity.     These  plates  are  admirably  executed. 

The  genuineness  of  the  new  specimens  illustrated  may  be  relied 
upon.  As  a  rule,  collectors  of  experience  and  observation  are  less 
likely  to  be  imposed  upon  by  "  archaeological  frauds  "  than  more 
learned  "  scientists  "  and  theorists,  who  are,  occasionally,  too  ready 
to  reject  evidence  as  to  new  discoveries. 

We  are  under  obligations  to  many  friends  and  others  for  assist- 


PREFACE.  Vll 

ance  in  this  work.  To  the  valuable  researches  of  Dr.  Joseph  Jones, 
the  pioneer  of  archseological  investigation  in  Tennessee,  we  are 
greatly  indebted,  as  we  are  also  to  Prof.  F.  W.  Putnam,  of  the  Pea- 
body  Museum,  and  to  Colonel  C.  C.  Jones,  Jr.,  of  Georgia,  author  of 
the  Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians.  We  are  under  special  ob- 
ligations to  Mr.  W.  H.  Holmes,  of  the  National  Bureau  of  Eth- 
nology, and  to  Dr.  Cyrus  Thomas,  Mayor  J.  W.  Pow^ell,  and  also  to 
Prof.  Langley,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

These  useful  public  institutions  are  more  than  fulfilling  the  ex- 
pectations of  the  government  and  the  public,  in  the  advancement 
and  dissemination  of  useful  scientihc  knowledsre. 

My  sincere  thanks  are  due  to  my  friends.  Colonel  W.  B.  Reese, 
D.  R.  Johnson,  Dr.  J.  M.  Satlbrd,  Jos.  S.  Carels,  Prof.  C.  F.  Smith, 
Dr.  II.  M.  Pierce,  Robt.  T.  Quarles,  Dr.  W.  C.  Blackman,  and  Park 
Marshall,  of  Franklin,  for  assistance  kindly  rendered.  Indeed,  I 
would  be  unable  to  name  all  the  friends  and  acquaintances  who 
have  generously  aided  me  in  various  ways,  and  but  for  whose  assist- 
ance my  labors  would  have  been  much  increased.  I  also  take 
pleasure  in  thanking  Messrs.  R.  B.  Gill  and  J.  H.  Wright,  of  the 
Nashville  Engraving  Company,  and  Messrs.  C.  H.  Ilankins  and  T. 
J,  Turley,  for  their  valuable  assistance  rendered  in  the  preparation 
of  the  drawings  and  engravino;s.  G.  P.  T. 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  June,  1890. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Frontispiece. — Images  of  Terra  Cotta,  from  the  Stone  Graves 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

Fig.  1.  Burial  Casket  of  Pottery,  Hale's  Point,  Tennessee 30 

2.  Plan  of  Sumner  County  Earth-works .33 

3.  Plan  of  Earth-works  near  Lebanon 34 

4.  De  GraflFenreid  Earth-works 36 

5.  Earth-works  at  Old  Town,  Tennessee 39 

6.  West  Harpeth  Earth-works 40 

7.  Stone  Fort,  near  Manchester 41 

8.  Plan  of  Entrance  to  Fort 42 

9.  Earth-works  near  Savannah,  Tennessee 43 

10.  Plan  of  Battle  of  the  Horseshoe 57 

CHAPTER  III. 

11.  Ground  Plan  of  Mandan  House 75 

12.  Cross  Section  of  Mandan  House 75 

13.  Plastering  Trowels,  from  the  Stone  Graves 76 

14.  Navajo  House 78 

CHAPTER  IV. 

15.  Engraved  Banner  Stone 87 

16.  Moqui  Vessel 87 

17.  Ornamented  Mexican  Pottery 88 

IS.  Inscribed  Stone  Disc 89 

Plate  II.  A  Group  of  Mound  Builders 90 

Fig.  19.  Pottery  Head,  from  Grave 93 

20.  The  Riggs  Portrait  Bowl 94 

21.  Terra  Cotta  Head,  from  Grave 98 

22.  Female  Head,  White's  Creek  Cemetery 99 

23.  Image  or  Effigy  Vessel 100 

Plate  III.  Images  of  Terra  Cotta,  from  the  Stone  Graves 102 

Fig.  24.  Terra  Cotta  Fragments 102 

(ix) 


X  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Plate  IV.  Stone  Idols  and  Terra  Cotta  Image 104 

Fig.  25.  Head  of  Stone,  Front  and  Profile  Views 104 

26.  Head  of  Image,  Henry  County 106 

27.  Stone  Idol,  Knox  County 106 

28.  Stone  Idol,  Smith  County 107 

29.  Small  Image  of  Stone,  Davidson  County 109 

30.  Image  Found  in  Sea  Shell 110 

31.  Cradle  Board  Image 112 

32.  Toy  Cradles  of  the  Zunis 114 

33.  34.  Crania  from  the  Stone  Graves 116 

35.  Typical  "  Short "  Cranium ,...,.  =  . 117 

36.  Typical  Skull,  Tennessee 118 

37.  Typical  Skull,  Missouri 118 

38.  Typical  Peruvian  Skull 120 

39.  CliflF  Dweller's  Skull,  New  Mexico 121 

CHAPTER  V. 

Plate  V.  Vases,  Jars,  and  Bottle-shaped  Forms 132 

Fig.  40.  Decorated  Pottery 136 

41.  Small  Decorated  Bowl 136 

42.  Decorated  Vase 137 

43.  Pottery  Vessel  or  Vase 137 

44.  Effigy  Vessel 138 

45.  Three-legged  Jar,  Lebanon  Works 139 

46.  Pottery,  Animal  Form 140 

Plate  VI.  Vessels  of  Pottery,  from  the  Graves 140 

Fig.  47.  Ornamented  Bowl,  Indented 141 

48.  Terra  Cotta  Head  and  Bowl 142 

49.  Bowl  Heads 143 

50.  Ornamented  Bowl 144 

51.  Animal  and  Head  Handler 145 

52.  Terra  Cotta  Chicken  Head.   145 

53.  Arkansas  Pottery 146 

54.  "  Dog  and  Bone  "  Bowl  Handle 147 

55.  Grotesque  Bowl  Handle 147 

56.  Animal  Head  of  Pottery 148 

Plate  VII.  Vessels  of  Fish  and  Animal  Forms,  of  Pottery 148 

Fig.  57.  Turtle  Bowl,  Noel  Cemetery 149 

Plate  VIII.  Vases  and  Vessels  of  Pottery,  from  the  Graves 150 

Fig.  58.  Medallion  Bowl,  Noel  Cemetery 151 

59.  Bowl,  Grotesque  Human  Form 151 

Plate  IX.  Vessels  and  Images  of  Pottery 152 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  XI 

Fig.  60.  Fine  Terra  Cotta  Head 154 

61.  Ornamented  Bowl,  t^calloped 154 

62.  Fine  Mississippi  Pottery 157 

63.  Typical  Peruvian  Vessels 158 

63a.  Arkansas  and  jNIissoiiri  Types 158 

Plate  X.  Sections  of  Large  Vessel  of  Pottery  (Diameter,  Thirty-one  inches). . .  158 

Fig.  64.  Large  Kettle  of  Pottery 161 

65.  Pottery  Implements,  Small  Trowels 162 

66.  Plastering  Trowels 163 

67.  Terra  Cotta  Rattle 164 

68.  Terra  Cotta  Marbles 164 

69.  Turtle  Totem,  Pottery 165 

70.  Serpent  Totem 166 

71.  Small  Terra  Cotta  Figures 167 

72.  Ear-rings  and  Amulets 167 

73.  Terra  Cotta  Ear-ring 167 

74.  Terra  Cotta  Ring  or  Ear-ring  Pendant 168 

75.  Stone  Ring,  Plated  with  Copper 169 

76.  Small  Terra  Cotta  Bottle 171 

77.  Pottery  of  the  Fiji  Islanders 173 

CHAPTER  VI. 

78.  Typical  Clay  Pipes 180 

79.  Animal  Head  Pipe  of  Pottery 181 

80.  Image  Pipe,  INIontgomery  County 182 

81.  Stone  Pipe,  Lebanon  Works 183 

82.  Stone  Pipe,  Etowah  Mound,  Georgia 184 

83.  Image  Pipe,  Etowah  Mound,  Georgia 185 

84.  Panther  Pipe,  Carthage  Mound,  Alabama 187 

85.  Image  Pipe,  East  Tennessee 188 

86.  Duck  Pipe,  Sumner  County 189 

87.  Leg  and  Foot  Pipe,  Davidson  County 190 

88.  Tube  Pipe  of  Pottery,  Williamson  County 190 

89.  Tube  Pipe  of  Stone,  Overton  County 191 

90.  Tube  Pipe  of 'Stone,  Clay  County 192 

91.  California  and  Pueblo  Tube  Pipes 193 

92.  Kentucky  Tube  or  Tube  Pipe 194 

93.  Tube  or  Tube  Pipe,  Unfinished 195 

94.  Curved  Base  or  Platform  Pipe,  Tennessee 195 

95.  Curved  Base  or  Platform  Pipe  (Broken),  Tennessee 196 

96.  Long  Platform  Pipe  of  Steatite,  Tennessee 197 

97.  Eagle  or  Bird  Pipe,  Stone. , 198 


Xll  LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Fig.    98.  Duck  Pipe,  Alabama '. . . .  198 

99.  Ancient  Catlinite  Pipe,  Noel  Cemetery 199 

100.  Kentucky  Disc  Pipe,  of  Catlinite 200 

101.  Tennessee  Disc  Pipe 201 

102.  Large  Calumet,  Duck  Form 202 

103.  Large  Bird  Calumet 202 

104.  Flying  Bird  Pipe 203 

105.  Flying  Bird  Pipe 203 

106.  Flying  Bird  Pipe,  Georgia 204 

107.  Large  Calumet,  Animal  Head 205 

108.  Large  Bird  Pipe 205 

109.  Bird  Pipe 206 

110.  Stone  Pipe 206 

111.  Bird  Pipe 207 

112.  Alligator  Pipe,  Davidson  County 207 

113.  Square  Stone  Pipe,  Sumner  County 208 

114.  Modern  Pipe,  of  Catlinite 210 

115.  Modern  Pipe,  Indian  Chief  Keokuk 210 

116.  Chinook  Bird  Pipe 211 

117.  Iroquois  Pipe,  of  Pottery , .  211 

118.  Pipe  of  North-west  Coast  Indians 212 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Plate  XL  Chipped  Flint  Implements 218 

Fig.  119.  Fine  Flint  Points 219 

Plate  XII.  Unusual  Types  of  Flints 220 

Fig.  120.  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Implements 220 

Plate  XIII.  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Implements 222 

Fig.  121.  Flint  Adze 222 

122.  Probable  Method  of  Hafting  Implements 223 

123,  124.  Rude  Flint  Implements 223 

125.  Small  Flint  Tools 224 

126.  Scrapers,  Side  Views 224 

127.  Chipped  Flint  Plummet 225 

128.  Small  Flint,  Rectangular  Form *. 225 

129.  Flint  Chisel 226 

130.  Two  Implements,  Chisels 226 

131.  Part  of  Set  of  Tools,  from  Grave 227 

132.  Flint  Cutting  Knife 228 

133.  Flint  Cutting  Knife  and  Handle 228 

134.  Flint  Knife,  Davidson  County 229 

135.  Flint  Knife,  Davidson  County. .229 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  XUl 

Fig.  136,  Flint  Knives,  Davidson  County 230 

137.  Flint  Implements 230 

138.  Flint  Celt  or  Hatchet,  Davidson  County 231 

139.  Flaked  Spear-head,  Maury  County 232 

140.  Flint  Dagger,  Humphreys  County 232 

141.  Small  Flint  Dagger,  Marshall  County 233 

142.  Flint  Dagger,  Davidson  County 234 

143.  Flint  Dagger  or  Spear-head,  Dickson  County 235 

144.  Flint  Implement,  Williamson  County 235 

145.  Double-barbed  Spear-head 23(j 

146.  Barbed  Spear  Points,  Davidson  County 237 

147.  Long  Sword  or  Ceremonial  Implement 237 

148.  Fhnt  Needle 237 

149.  Long  Scepter  or  Implement 237 

Plate  XIV.  Ceremonial  Implements  of  Flint 240 

Fig.  150.  Long  California  Flint. 243 

151.  Ceremonial  Implement  or  Scepter 244 

152.  Ceremonial  Implement 244 

153.  Chipped  Stone  Hooks,  Stewart  County 245 

154.  Chipped  Stone  Hooks,  Humphreys  County 246 

155.  Chipped  Stone  Claw,  Stewart  County 247 

156.  Craw-fish  Totem,  Stewart  County 249 

157.  Chipped  Stone  Turtle,  Smith  County 250 

158.  Chipped  Flint  Disc,  Humphreys  County 250 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

159.  Grooved  Stone  Axes 255 

160.  Typical  Celts  or  Ungrooved  Axes 256 

161.  Historical  Society  Axe  or  Celt 257 

162.  Stone  Hammer,  with  Handle 257 

163.  Stone  Axe,  with  Stone  Handle 259 

164.  Large  Stone  Adze 259 

165.  Hatchets  and  Chisels 260 

166.  Swiss  Implement,  with  Horn  Handle 260 

167.  Chisel  and  Knife 261 

168.  Cutting  Implements 262 

169.  Rude  Cutting  Implements 262 

170.  Sharpening  or  Smoothing  Stone 263 

171.  The  Discoidals 264 

172.  The  Barrel  or  Cheese-shaped  Disc 266 

173.  Unusual  Types  of  Discoidals 267 

174.  Fabric  Impressed  upon  Pottery 270 


XIV  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Fig.  175.  Diagonal  Fabric  from  Impression c . . .  270 

176.  Spinning  Whorls,  from  the  Graves 271 

177.  Ancient  Swiss  Whorls 271 

178.  Perforated  Discs  or  Whorls 272 

179.  Small  Discoids 272 

180.  Artificial  Disc,  Coated  with  Iron 273 

181.  Disc  Plates  of  Stone 274 

182.  Paint  Cup  and  Pestle,  from  New  Mexico 275 

183.  Stone  Paint  Cup,  Tennessee 276 

184.  Paint  Cups,  Davidson  County 277 

185.  Ornamented  Paint  Cup 277 

186.  Stone  Mortar 278 

187.  Stone  Pestles 279 

188.  Steatite  Tube 279 

189.  Steatite  Tube,  Maury  County. 280 

190.  Prehistoric  Stone  Whistle 283 

191.  Bone  Whistles 284 

192.  Steatite  Funnel 284 

193.  Sandstone  Funnel 285 

194.  Small  Stone  Tubes 285 

195.  Steatite  Rings 286 

196.  Stone  Rings,  from  Graves 287 

197.  Rings  or  Ear-ring  Pendants 288 

198.  Table  of  Sandstone 289 

199.  Cone-shaped  Objects 289 

200.  Hematite  Objects 290 

201.  Pendants  or  Pierced  Tablets 291 

202.  Bird  Pendant  or  Totem 291 

203.  Stone  Pendant,  Clay  County. '. 292 

204.  Stone  Implements 293 

205.  Polished  Stone  Implements 293 

206.  Banner  Stones 294 

207.  Banner  Stone 294 

Fig.  208.  Ceremonial  Implements 295 

Plate  XV.  Fine  Stone  Implements  or  Ceremonials 296 

CHAPTER  IX. 

209.  Copper  Cross  or  Ornament 300 

210.  Implement  and  Objects  of  Copper 301 

211.  Copper  Objects,  Probably  Relics  of  De  Soto 303 

212.  Bone  Implements,  from  the  Graves 305 

213.  A  Set  of  Bone  Implements,  from  Stone  Grave 306 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^V 

Fig.  214.  A  Set  of  Fine  Bone  Implements 307 

215.  Objects  of  Bone 308 

216.  Conch  Shell  Cups,  from  Graves 310 

217.  Shell  Forms  in  Pottery 311 

218.  Double  Shell  Form  in  Pottery 312 

219.  Typical  Shell  Spoons 312 

220.  A  Large  Shell  Spoon 313 

221.  A  Spoon-shaped  Bowl  in  Pottery 314 

222.  An  Aboriginal  Shell  Fork 315 

223.  A  Hanging  Bracket  of  Shell 316 

224.  Shell  Beads,  from  the  Graves 317 

225.  Large  Discoidal  Beads 317 

226.  Various  Types  of  Beads 319 

227.  Terra  Cotta  Beads,  from  the  Graves 320 

228.  Large  Stone  Beads,  from  the  Graves 321 

229.  Shell  Gorgets  or  Breast-plates 323 

230.  Engraved  Shell  Gorget,  Nashville  Type 325 

231.  Engraved  Shell  Gorget,  Wayne  County,  Tennessee 327 

232.  Shell  Gorget,  with  Symbol  of  the  Cross 329 

233.  Eattlesnake  Gorget,  McMahon  Mound 332 

234.  235.  Rattlesnake  Gorgets,  East  Tennessee 333 

236.  Engraved  Stone  Disc,  Alabama 333 

237.  Shell  Gorget,  the  Spider  Design 335 

238.  Shell  Gorget,  the  Human  Form 337 

239.  Shell  Gorget,  the  Human  Form 337 

Plate  XVI.  Shell  Gorget,  the  Fighting  Figures,  McMahon  ^Mound 338 

Fig.  240.  Engraved  Gorget,  Kneeling  Figure 340 

241.  Engraved  Gorget,  Fighting  Figures 341 

242.  Copper  Plate,  Etowah  Mound , 342 

243.  Copper  Plate,  Illinois  Mound 344 

Plate  XVII.  Engraved  Shell  Gorget,  New  Madrid,  Missouri 346 

Fig.  244.  Grotesque  Picture,  Mexican  Manuscript 347 

245.  Engraved  Shell  Gorget,  Missouri 350 

246.  Figure  from  an  Aztec  Painting 351 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  TENNESSEE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Recent  Discoveries  in  Tennessee — Accounts  of  the  Early  Historians — The  Native 
Tribes  Apparently  Homogeneous — Theories  of  Bancroft  and  Morgan — Different 
Types  of  Indians — A  Summary  of  the  Results  of  Investigation — Traces  of 
the  Village  or  Pueblo  Type — The  Shawnees — The  Natchez— The  Arts  and 
Industries  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

The  prehistoric  cemeteries  of  the  Stone  Grave  race  of  Tennes- 
see are  among  the  most  interesting  memorials  of  aboriginal  life  in 
America.  The  mortuary  remains  were  placed  in  cists  or  box- 
shaped  graves  built  of  stone  slabs,  and  sometimes  constructed  with 
much  care. 

V 

A  hundred  or  more  of  these  rude  sarcophagi  are  occasionally- 
found,  deposited  m  several  tiers  or  layers,  in  a  single  burial  mound. 
In  accordance  with  the  ancient  and  modern  mortuary  customs  of 
the  native  races,  vessels  containing  provisions,  and  various  utensils, 
were  placed  m  the  graves  beside  the  dead,  to  supply  them  on  their 
journey  to  the  spirit  land.  Within  these  enduring  cists  of  stone, 
are  also  found  many  other  archaeological  treasures,  illustrating  the 
arts  and  industries  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Tennessee.  They 
were  thus  sealed  up  and  protected  from  the  waste  of  time,  nearly  as 
effectually  as  the  elaborate  tombs  of  Pompeii  and  Cumse  preserved 
the  fragile  vases  of  Roman  porcelain. 

They  tell  the  story  of  ancient  domestic  life  in  the  Cumberland 
and  Tennessee  valleys  with  remarkable  exactness,  and  unravel 
secrets  that  the  most  imposing  monuments  of  the  native  races  have 

(1) 


A  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

failed  to  disclose.  One  of  the  lars^est  and  richest  of  these  aborio-i- 
nal  cemeteries,  about  live  miles  south  of  Xashville,  lying  along 
the  waters  of  Brown's  creek,  and  m  the  midst  of  the  historic 
battle  field,  has  recently  been  explored,  in  fact,  devastated  by  relic 
hunters  and  collectors.  It  is  situated  upon  the  farm  of  Mr.  0.  F. 
Noel,  adjoining  Glendale  Park,  between  the  Franklin  and  the 
Middle  Franklin  turnpikes,  and  in  one  of  the  most  fertile,  well- 
watered,  and  beautiful  sections  of  Tennessee. 

Upon  this  favored  site,  centuries  ago,  there  was  a  large  town 
or  city,  probably  the  ancient  metropolis  of  the  Stone  Grave  race 
of  Middle  Tennessee.  Not  less  than  three  thousand  closely  laid 
stone  graves  were  found  in  the  adjacent  cemetery,  and  at  least  a 
thousand  more  were  discovered  upon  the  adjoining  farms.  Many 
towns,  villages,  and  settlements  were  located  in  the  surrounding 
country,  and  the  smaller  cemeteries  upon  nearly  every  large  farm 
in  this  general  section,  establish  the  fact  that  a  widely  distributed 
population  once  occupied  this  fertile  territory,  and  buried  its  dead, 
for  several  generations  at  least,  m  various  local  or  family  burial 
grounds. 

Notwithstanding  its  rough  usage,  the  large  central  cemetery 
has  proved  a  valuable  treasury  of  antiquities:  Some  six  or  seven 
hundred  perfect  specimens  of  well-burned  pottery  have  been 
obtained  within  its  limits ;  many  of  them  unique  in  form,  and  so 
finely  finished  that  they  may  be  said  to  be  semi-glazed.  Nearly 
every  familiar  natural  object,  animate  and  inanimate,  is  represented 
in  the  forms  of  this  ware.  Animals,  birds,  and  fish  in  great 
variety,  the  human  figure  in  many  attitudes,  sea-shell  forms,  and 
grotesque  and  fanciful  figures  are  all  represented,  and  many  of  the 
vessels  have  been  colored  and  decorated  with  considerable  artistic 
skill.  There  are  cooking  vessels,  drinking  cups,  water  jars,  hang- 
ing vessels,  sets  of  ware,  ornamented  and  plain,  basins,  bottles, 
vases,  spoons,  and,  indeed,  every  variety  of  equipment  for  a  well- 
stocked  aboriginal  cuisine.  Many  of  the  images  and  terra-cotta 
heads   doubtless  show  approximately  types  of  the  very  faces  and 


INTRODUCTORY.  d 

lineaments  of  the  race  buried  beside  them;  evidently  the  ancient 
Indian  aristrocracy  of  the  Cumberland  valley. 

'No  specimens  of  the  kind  of  superior  workmanship,  or  more 
distinctly  outlining  features,  expression,  and  dress  have  been  found, 
so  far  as  we  are  informed,  within  the  territorial  limits  of  the  United 
States.  In  a  child's  grave  of  the  ancient  cemetery  was  found  a 
remarkable  terra-cotta  figure  nine  inches  long,  representing  a  little 
child  or  papoose  tied  to  its  hanging  board,  after  the  historic  Indian 
style,  showing  that  this  custom  also  prevailed  among  the  prehistoric 
tribes.  Sets  of  toy  plates,  dainty  little  vases  and  bowls,  and  terra- 
cotta rattles,  and  marbles  for  the  children  were  found  within  their 
graves ,  doubtless,  placed  there  by  the  hands  of  the  ever-loving 
mothers.  It  seems  also  that  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  ancient 
city  must  have  followed  special  trades  or  occupations,  as  sets  of 
tools  and  implements  of  pottery,  stone,  and  bone  were  discovered. 

Five  clay  implements  of  different  sizes,  probably  plastering 
trowels,  two  of  them  quite  large,  were  found  in  a  single  grave — 
evidently  the  outfit  of  some  plasterer,  who  worked  upon  the  ancient 
adobe  or  clay-plastered  houses  that  once  dotted  the  picturesque 
valley  of  Brown's  creek.  The  implements  of  the  pottery  makers 
were  also  abundant. 

A  set  of  eight  finely  ground  chisels  of  chipped  flint  were  found 
in  one  grave,  probably  the  equipment  of  some  old  artisan,  perhaps 
a  lapidary  or  wood-worker.  A"  set  of  five  peculiar  and  carefully 
made  bone  implements  like  little  spatulse,  or  paddles,  with  long 
handles,  looked  like  they  might  have  been  used  to  mix  nostrums  in 
some  aboriginal  medicine  shop.  An  engraved  disc  of  stone  of  some 
significance  was  also  discovered  in  this  old  cemetery,  and  in  some 
of  the  neighboring  stone  graves  were  small  symmetrical  wheels  of 
stone  and  terra-cotta  that  looked  like  little  pulleys,  most  skillfully 
plated  with  a  thin  coating  of  native  copper.  Beautiful  quartz 
discs,  rare  and  unique  implements,  and  ceremonials  of  chipped  and 
polished  stone,  were  among  the  objects  found.  The  presence  of 
many  articles  from  other  sections  of  the  country  also  indicates  that 
in  the  prehistoric  period  there  must  have  been  commercial  inter- 


4  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

course  or  contact  with  tribes  living  at  a  great  distance  from  this 
ancient  town  or  city.  Many  of  the  drinking  cups,  ornaments,  and 
utensils  were  made  of  marine  shells  from  the  gulf  or  the  South 
Atlantic  coast.  The  native  copper  found  came  from  the  borders  of 
Lake  Superior.  The  mica  from  Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 
The  material  for  the  beautiful  implements  of  steatite,  hematite, 
porphyry,  jasper,  and  cannel  coal  "must  have  come  from  other,  and 
in  some  instances,  very  distant  sections.  A  pipe  of  brilliant  red 
catlinite,  found  only  m  situ  in  Western  Minnesota,  was  one  of  the 
objects  discovered. 

The  vessels,  ornaments,  and  implements,  discovered  in  the 
graves  of  the  smaller  cemeteries  of  the  surrounding  country,  show 
that  the  villagers  and  farmers,  or  gardeners,  who  were  buried  there, 
had  probably  lived  nearly  as  comfortably  as  the  townspeople  on 
Brown's  creek,  and  had  been  supplied  with  many  domestic  con- 
veniences and  even  with  luxuries.  [N'otwithstanding  the  large 
population  that  occupied  the  central  city  and  the  adjacent  country, 
no  ancient  defensive  or  military  works  or  earth-works  of  magni- 
tude have  been  discovered  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  ISTashville, 
There  is  a  large  artificial  mound  a  half  a  mile  north-east  of  jSToel 
cemetery,  about  twelve  feet  high,  but  it  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  a  place  of  burial  or  to  have  been  connected  with  any  system 
of  earth-works.  It  was  doubtless  used  for  some  public  or  religious 
purpose.  It  may  have  been  a  mound  of  observation  or  the 
residence  site  of  some  old  chieftain. 

A  cordon  of  frontier  forts,  or  fortified  towns,  however,  pro- 
tected this  central  and  thicklj^  settled  district,  and  probably  enabled 
its  population  to  live  in  peace  and  security  for  generations.  This 
may  in  some  measure  account  for  the  comparatively  advanced  state 
of  native  society  in  this  section  in  the  prehistoric  time.  There 
were  two  of  these  large  forts  on  the  north,  in  the  adjacent  county 
of  Sumner,  one  about  thirty  miles  to  the  eastward,  in  Wilson 
county,  and  three  or  four  in  Williamson,  the  adjoining  county  on 
the  south,  distributed  along  the  waters  of  the  Harpeth  river,  thus 
inclosing  the  more  advanced  settlements  of  the  Stone  Grave  race, 


INTRODUCTORY.  5 

near  ISTashville,  with  a  line  of  outlying  forts,  nearly  equidistant 
from  this  common  center.  On  the  north-west,  and  down  the 
Cumberland  river,  were  their  kindred  of  the  same  race,  and 
defensive  works  are  not  found,  and  were  probably  not  necessary. 
Plans  and  descriptions  of  several  of  these  fortified  towns  will  be 
found  in  the  succeeding  chapter. 

The  remains  of  forts,  villages,  and  settlements  of  the  Stone 
Grave  race  have  been  discovered  in  several  other  portions  of  the 
state  outside  of  this  central  district.  There  were  also  extensive 
settlements  in  the  valleys  of  East  Tennessee,  in  Northern  Georgia, 
in  the  lower  valley  of  the  Cumberland,  in  Southern  Kentucky, 
Southern  Illinois,  and  perhaps  other  sections ;  but  the  most  popu- 
lous centers  of  this  interesting  race  seem  to  have  been  in  the 
vicinity  of  i^Tashville.  It  is  within  the  bounds  of  truth  to  state 
that,  after  a  century  of  occupation  by  the  whites,  the  burial 
grounds  of  its  aboriginal  inhabitants,  within  a  radius  of  thirty 
miles  from  this  center,  contained  a  greater  number  of  graves  than 
the  aggregate  of  the  present  cemeteries  of  the  whites  within  the 
sanae  limits. 

To  the  archaeologist  they  offer  an  inviting  field  for  investiga- 
tion, We  know  of  no  other  portion  of  the  Mississippi  valley  where 
the  monuments  and  remains  of  the  arts  and  industries  of  the  native 
races  can  be  studied  with  the  hope  of  a  better  reward. 

Although  essentially  primitive  and  Indian  in  their  character- 
istics, the  remains  of  "  the  mound  builders,"  or  fort  builders,  of 
the  Cumberland  valley  indicate  that  this  progressive  race  belonged 
to  a  more  advanced  type  of  North  American  Indians  than  the 
nomadic  tribes  of  the  early  frontier.  In  the  scale  of  civilization 
it  should  probably  be  classed  with  the  best  types  of  sedentary  or 
village  Indians  of  New  Mexico  or  Arizona.  The  temperate  climate 
of  this  section,  its  healthful,  fertile,  and  well-watered  valleys, 
favored  development.  The  struggle  for  the  necessities  of  life  was 
not  so  severe  as  in  the  North.  If  modern  Tennesseeans  are  per- 
mitted to  pride  themselves  upon  the  comparatively  advanced  state 
of    their   aboriginal    predecessors,    we    may  assure  them,   that   the 


6  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

latter  moved  in  the  highest  circles  of  respectability  and  barbaric 
comfort  known  to  the  ancient  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  No  native 
Americans  north  of  Mexico,  in  the  prehistoric  period,  came  nearer 
to  the  confines  of  semi-civilization. 

Here,  doubtless,  the  magnates  of  the  Stone  Grave  tribes,  upon 
public  occasions,  carried  with  dignity  some  of  the  remarkable 
scepters  and  maces  of  authority,  and  dispUiyed  the  beautiful  cere- 
monial implements,  engraved  gorgets  of  shell,  and  family  insignia, 
illustrated  in  succeeding  chapters  of  this  work.  Here  an  indus- 
trious and  progressive  race  was  slowly  working  its  way  along 
humble  paths  of  progress  toward  a  higher  state. 

In  an  evil  hour,  unhappily,  the  spoilers  came,  perhaps  the 
ancestors  of  the  rapacious  and  vindictive  Iroquois  of  the  Is'orth, 
the  Goths  and  Vandals  of  the  Western  World,  arresting  develop- 
ment and  rudely  shocking  and  dispersing  these  less  warlike  com- 
munities. The  period  of  this  catastrophe  or  succession  of  disasters 
was  probably  not  very  remote. 

If  we  could  have  been  given  a  glimpse  of  the  fair  valley  of  the 
Cumberland  in  1492,  the  date  of  the  Columbian  discovery,  it  is 
quite  probable  that  we  should  have  found  some  of  these  ancient 
settlements  full  of  busy  life.  We  might  have  learned  the  story  of 
the  mounds  and  graves  from  some  of  their  own  builders ;  but 
nearly  three  centuries  elapsed  before  the  pioneers  of  civilization 
reached  the  confines  of  Tennessee.  It  is  true  that,  about  fifty  years 
after  the  discovery,  De  Soto  and  his  army  (a.  d.  1540)  brushed  along 
its  southern  border,  rudely  startling  the  native  inhabitants,  but  they 
passed  on  across  the  great  river  and  probably  never  came  within 
the  actual  bounds  of  Tennessee.  A  hundred  and  thirty-two  years 
then  elapsed.  In  this  long  interval  no  European  stepped  w^ithin 
our  limits,  so  far  as  we  know.  In  1673,  Marquette  came  in  his 
shallow  bark,  floating  down  upon  the  broad  w^aters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, its  first  white  explorer. 

A  few  years  later  came  that  intrepid  French  discoverer.  La 
Salle,  but  he  only  looked  upon  the  swamps  and  forests  of  the  river 


^  INTRODUCTORY.  •  7 

margin.  Kearly  a  century  intervened  before  the  liardj  pioneers 
of  Virginia  and  Carolina  scaled  the  mountains  and  claimed  a  home 
in  the  vallev  of  the  AYatauga,  or  Daniel  Boone  started  on  the 
"wilderness  trail'"  for  the  far  West. 

In  all  these  years,  Tennessee,  infolded  in  her  ancient  forests 
and  mountain  barriers — in  her  insulation,  remote  from  ocean,  lake, 
and  gulf — was  as  unknown  to  the  outer  world  as  Central  Africa. 
France  claimed  her  territory  by  right  of  discovery  as  part  of 
Louisiana  and  Illinois.  Spain  called  it  Florida  and  set  up  her 
right.  England  assumed  sovereignty  over  it  as  part  of  Virginia 
and  Carolina,  but  none  of  them  took  possession.  Even  its  Indian 
claimants  had  to  fight  for  their  titles.  Vincennes  in  Indiana, 
Kaskaskia  in  Illinois,  and  Xew  Orleans  were  founded.  Texas  and 
Missouri  were  colonized.  Santa  Fe,  in  Xew  Mexico,  a  thousand 
miles  and  more  to  the  west,  had  become  an  old  Spanish  town  ;  yet 
Tennessee  was  still  without  name  or  description,  save  that  it  was 
marked  on  the  ISTew  "World  maps  as  "  the  unexplored  land  of  the 
ancient  Shawnees." 

These  facts  are  stated  to  show  how  little  history  can  tell  us 
directly  of  ancient  Tennessee  or  of  the  Stone  Grave  race,  yet  for 
nearly  four  hundred  years,  Spanish,  French,  and  English  travelers 
have  published  chronicles  and  manuscripts  relating  to  the  natives 
of  the  South  Atlantic  And  Mexican  Gulf  coasts,  neighbors  and 
allies  of  the  tribes  of  the  interior  country,  now  known  as  Tennessee, 
and  presumably  akin  to  them  in  race  and  manner  of  life.  Ponce  de 
Leon  came  to  Florida  in  1512.  De  Ayllon,  another  Spaniard, 
visited  the  "coast  of  South  Carolina  in  1520,  and  again  in  1524.  An 
Italian  discoverer,  Verrazano,  visited  the  coast  of  IS'orth  Carolina 
in  1524.  He  reported  that  he  found  the  natives  primitive  in  their 
habits,  uncivilized,  and  numbering  a  large  population.  ISTarvaez, 
who  vainly  attempted  in  1528  to  conquer  the  country  then  called 
Florida  (embracing  Tennessee),  found  there  populous  towns,  well 
fortified,  and  surrounded  by  extensive  fields  of  corn  and  maize. 
Volumes  of  narrative  and  manuscript  have  also  been  left  us  by 
the  chroniclers  of  De  Soto's  expedition. 


8  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

About  1540,  Cartier  and  Roberval,  French  pioneers  of  dis- 
covery, visited  Canada,  then  claimed  by  Spain  as  their  Florida  of 
the  i^orth.  The  French  Huguenots  came  under  Ribaut,  and 
attempted  to  plant  a  colony  on  the  Carolina  coast,  in  1562,  nearly 
fifty  years  prior  to  the  Virginia  settlement  at  Jamestown. 
E-ibaut's  published  journal  describes  in  detail  the  character  and 
habits  of  the  natives  on  the  coast  and  in  the  interior ;  describes 
their  villages,  their  agricultural  habits,  and  their  cultivated  fields. 
Champlain  and  others  gave  faithful  accounts  of  the  native  Amer- 
icans of  the  North.  La  Salle  describes  the  natives  of  Arkansas 
and  Texas  as  he  found  them  in  1673^  Other  early  French  and 
Spanish  writers  describe  with  much  particularity  the  habits,  dress, 
and  manners  of  the  ancient  tribes  living  on  the  Gulf  coast. 

From  these  journals  and  manuscripts,  sometimes  buried  for 
centuries  in  the  great  libraries  of  Europe,  we  have  reasonably 
faithful  information  as  to  the  history,  traditions,  and  mode  of  life 
of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  territory  adjacent  to  and  sur- 
rounding Tennessee. 

The  testimony  of  all,  added  to  that  of  the  Virginia  and  New 
England  colonists,  establishes  the  fact  that  these  native  Amer- 
icans, called  by  Columbus  "  Indians,"  were  alike  in  their  main 
characteristics,  and  belonged  to  a  race  apparently  homogeneous. 

The  swarthy  red  or  copper  or  olive  complexion,  the  dark  eyes, 
the  coarse,  straight  black  hair,  the  high  cheek-bones,  were  com- 
mon to  all,  from  the  St.  Lawrence  river  to  Texas.  Their  half- 
nakedness,  their  simple  and  primitive  habits,  the  drudgery  of  the 
women,  the  generally  aquiline  nose,  the  absence  or  scantiness  of 
beards,  their  love  of  smoking,  of  gay  colors,  painted  faces,  feathers, 
plumes,  feasts,  dances,  were  noted  by  these  writers,  and  indicate 
the  probable  ethnic  unity  of  the  race — recalling  the  remark  of 
Ulloa,  the  early  Spanish  governor  of  Louisiana,  quoted  by  Robert- 
son, that  "  If  we  have  seen  one  American,  we  have  seen  all,  their 
color  and  make  up  are  so  nearly  alike."  * 

*  "  But  among  all  other  inhabitants  of  America,  there  is  such  a  striking  simili- 
tude in  the  form  of  their  bodies,  and  the  qualities  of  their  minds,  that,  notwith- 


INTRODUCTORY.  9 

The  fact  that  these  early  records  show  no  traces  of  an  advanced 
civilization,  or  of  a  race  essentially  different  or  superior,  affords  at 
least  the  presumption  of  a  common  ancestry  and  of  an  inherited 
state  of  savagery  or  harbarism.  A  number  of  the  early  writers 
state,  however,  that  the  native  tribes  of  the  South  and  South-west 
lived  in  larger  towns,  were  milder  and  more  docile  in  disposition, 
and  were  more  advanced  in  the  primitive  arts  than  the  tribes  of 
the  Xorth. 

Passing  from  this  brief  historical  review,  to  the  interesting 
problems  relating  to  the  origin  of  the  ancient  mound  and  grave 
builders  of  Tennessee,  their  race  relation,  their  tribal  affinities,  and 
their  culture-status  in  the  scale  of  civilization  as  represented  by 
their  monuments  and  art,  we  enter  upon  more  uncertain  ground. 

It  is  a  difficult  task  to  construct  exact  history  out  of  the  ashes 
of  buried  villages,  and  the  debris  of  ancient  mounds  and  ceme- 
teries. We  can  only  approximate  the  truth,  and  no  one  can  hope 
to  acquire  even  a  limited  comprehension  of  this  subject,  without 
fully  realizing  the  complications  that  environ  it. 

The  gifted  Palgrave  assured  us  "  that  we  must  give  up  that 
speechless  past,  whether  fact  or  chronology,  doctrine  or  mythology, 
whether  in  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  or  America ;  at  Thebes,  or 
Palenque,  on  Lycian  shore  or  Salisbury  plain  ;  lost  is  lost ;  gone  is 
gone  forever."  Yet  we,  as  Americans,  can  not  but  feel  an  inter- 
est in  unraveling  the  history  of  the  ancient  "  First  Americans," 
whose  remarkable  and  suggestive  remains  are  found  in  the  fertile 
fields  and  along  the  river  sides  of  Tennessee,  and,  indeed,  almost 
every-where  throughout  the  Mississippi  valley.  They  afford  a 
field  for  archaeological  research  useful,  fascinating,  and  near  at 
hand. 

standing  the  diversities  occasioned  by  the  influence  of  cUmate  or  unequal  progress 
in  improvement,  we  must  pronounce  them  to  be  descendants  from  one  source." — 
Robertson's  History  of  America,  page  69. 

Humboldt  says  the  aborigines  of  Mexico,  out  of  which  its  civilization  was 
developed,  resembled  those  of  Canada,  Florida,  Peru,  and  Brazil,  and  that  they  evi- 
dently descended  from  the  same  stock  or  stocks. — New  Spain,  a.  j).  1808,  page  105. 


10  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

At  the  very  threshold  of  the  subject,  however,  the  inquirer 
will  meet  with  a  number  of  difficulties. 

The  problems  to  be  dealt  with  carry  us  back  into  a  remote 
and  unmeasurable  antiquity.  All  standard  authorities  agree,  that 
our  western  continent  had  been  peopled  at  least  two  or  three 
thousand  years  prior  to  the  date  of  its  discovery.  This  fact  must 
be  fully  realized,  and  accepted  without  question,  before  progress 
can  be  made  in  the  investigation.  Geology,  historj',  ruins  upon 
ruins,  tradition,  moral  and  physical  characteristics,  the  great  variety 
of  languages,  the  wide-spread  dispersion — all  unite  in  establishing 
the  remoteness  of  the  period.  It  must  be  measured  by  the  epochs 
of  geologic  time,  rather  than  by  the  years  of  chronology.  A  long 
night  of  oblivion  has  cast  an  impenetrable  veil  over  the  earlier 
centuries  of  aboriginal  life  in  America.  Only  scattered  and  uncer- 
tain vestiges  remain.  The  ancestr}^  of  our  native  races,  whether 
of  single,  dual,  or  varied  origin,  can  not  be  traced  with  certainty 
to  other  continents.*  Prehistoric  life  in  Tennessee,  as  elsewhere, 
is  wrapped  in  mysteries. 

The  second  great  difficulty  in  the  way,  is  the  vast  area  over 
which  the  monuments  and  remains  of  ancient  life  in  America  are 
distributed.  There  is  no  portion  of  the  double  continent  that  does 
not  appear  to  have  had  its  human  habitations  at  some  period  in 
the  past.  Evidences  of  occupation,  stone  implements — paleolithic 
and  neolithic — fragments  of  pottery,  mound  remains,  are  found 
almost  every-where,  indicating  innumerable  conditions  of  life  and 
environment,  and  various  degrees  of  development.  Major  J.  W. 
Powell,  of  the  Ethnological  Bureau,  says  the  native  races  of  ISTorth 
America  had  not  less  than  seventy-five   stocks  of   languages,  and 

*  Many  volumes  have  been  written  as  to  how  America  was  originally  peopled, 
"without  reaching  any  definite  or  satisfactory  solution  of  the  problem.  After  jjains- 
taking  investigation,  the  author  is  disposed  to  agree  with  H.  H.  Bancroft,  that 
America  might  have  been  peopled  in  so  many  ways  that  it  is  a  hopeless  task  to 
seek  to  discover  the  "  one  particular  way.^'  Bancroft  confesses  that  lie  has,  there- 
fore, no  special  theory  to  offer  as  to  how  it  was  first  settled. — Native  Races,  Vol.  Y. 
page  6. 


INTRODUCTORY.  11 

South  America  as  many  more.  H,  H.  Bancroft  has  classified  some 
six  hundred  of  these  languages  and  dialects,  but  the  whole  number 
has  been  estimated  at  thirteen  hundred.  It  will  l;)e  necessary, 
therefore,  in  considering  the  problems  of  ancient  American  history, 
that  the  mind  shall  firmly  grasp  the  idea  of  (/  lo)i<j -continued  and 
widely -spread  occupation  by  ancient  tribes  in  various  stages  of  develop- 
ment.  A  third  difficulty,  almost  as  embarrassing  as  the  others, 
arises  from  the  conflicting  views  and  classification  of  our  principal 
writers  and  ethnologists,  who,  by  confusion  of  terms,  and  widely 
differing  theories  and  nomenclature,  have  made  it  a  serious  task  to 
acquire  clear  views  of  the  subject. 

For  instance :  The  most  valuable  contributions  to  the  eth- 
nology and  ancient  history  of  the  native  races  of  America  have 
been  made  by  Lewis  II.  Morgan  and  Hubert  II.  Bancroft.  There 
are  no  more  eminent  authorities  upon  this  general  subject.  In  the 
classification  of  Bancroft,  the  ancient  Mayas,  Quiches,  and  Aztecs 
are  designated  as  "  civilized  nations,"  and  the  Pueblo  tribes  of 
Indians  of  ISTew  Mexico,  as  "  semi-civilized."  *  Morgan,  on  the 
contrary,  says  :  "  There  was  neither  a  political  society,  nor  a  state, 
nor  any  civilization  in  America  when  it  was  discovered,  and 
excluding  the  Eskimos,  but  one  race  of  Indians,  the  Eed  Race."  f 

Bancroft,  in  his  elaborate  volumes,  pictures  the  high  state  of 
civilization  in  Mexico,  the  royal  palace  and  court  of  Montezuma, 
lordly  manners,  and  an  advanced  state  of  society;  while  Morgan, 
with  much  learning  and  force  of  reasoning,  insists  that  what  Cortez 
and  his  Spanish  chroniclers  chose  to  dignify  as  the  palace  of 
Montezuma,  w^as  in  fact  a  great  and  rude  communal  dwelling,  only 
a  grade  above  the  pueblos  of  New  Mexico,  and  that  Montezuma 
was  but  "  a  cacique  or  principal  war  chief  over  tribes  of  red 
Indians  in  the  middle  status  of  barbarism,"  and  that  the  much 
over-estimated  Aztecs  were  a  "  breech  clout "  lot  of  advanced 
Indians  of  the  stone  age. 

It  seems    that    civilization,   barbarism,    and  savagery  are   but 

*  Native  Races,  Vol.  II,  page  2 ;  Vol.  IV,  page  685. 

t  Smithsonian  Contributions  (Morgan),  Vol.  IV,  page  250. 


12  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

comparative  terms,  as  used  by  various  authors,  and  that  even  the 
word  Indian  or  "  red  Indian,"  unless  analyzed  and  defined,  has  a 
very  indefinite  signification. 

The  American  Indian  family,  considering  the  great  number  of 
tribes  included  in  the  term  in  its  general  acceptation,  presented 
several  types,  some  of  them  marked  and  distinct,  others  more 
difficult  to  classify.  The  Shoshones,  the  Chinooks  of  the 
Columbia  river,  the  Digger  Indians,  and  the  wilder  tribes  of 
Canada  and  Mexico,  in  the  scale  of  savagery,  were  below  the 
standard  of  semi-agricultural  tribes  like  the  Iroquois,  the  Natchez, 
,  or  the  Shawnees.  Some  of  the  Shoshonean  sedentary  tribes  of 
California  were  lower  in  the  scale  than  many  of  the  nomadic 
tribes.  In  military  and  tribal  organization,  and  in  the  arts  of  war, 
diplomacy  and  eloquence,  the  Iroquois  or  the  Creek  was  as  much 
superior  to  the  Indian  of  the  village  or  pueblo  class  as  the  latter 
was  superior  to  the  former  in  some  of  the  arts  and  industries  of 
domestic  life.  We  find  tribes  like  the  Navajos  of  ISTew  Mexico  and 
the  Pimas  of  Arizona — of  the  sedentary  or  village  tj'pe,  herding 
flocks,  and  subsisting  mainly  upon  the  products  of  the  soil,  yet 
living  in  rude  dwellings,  painting  their  faces,  and  scalping  their 
enemies,  like  their  more  predatory  neighbors  of  the  Apache  family. 
They  have  linguistic  affinities,  and  are  sometimes  classed  together. 

Other  village  Indians  on  the  Colorado  river,  of  the  pueblo  type, 
the  Maricopas,  and  Mohaves,  do  not  live  in  pueblos,  but  in  rude 
communal  houses  or  huts,  similar  to  those  built  by  some  of  the 
eastern  Indians — yet  all  are  designated  as  Indians.'-^ 

The  Iroquois  and  Hurons  presented  the  finest  types  of  the  red 
Indian  family  of  the  North.  Parkman  calls  the  Hurons  "  a 
stationary  tribe."  f 

When  first  visited  by  the  whites,  the  Iroquois  manufactured 
twine,  nets,  and  cordage  from  fibers  of  bark,  and  wove  belts,  with 
warp   and   woof  from    the    same    material.      They   manufactured 

*  Smithsonian  Contributions  (Morgan),  Vol.  lA'',  page  130. 
t  The  Jesuits  in  North  America. — Parkman,  XXXVI. 


INTRODUCTORY.  13 

earthen  vessels  and  pipes  from  clay  mixed  with  silicious  material, 
and  hardened  by  fire — some  of  which  were  ornamented  by  rude 
medallions  and  elaborate  markings. 

They  cultivated  maize,  beans,  squashes,  tobacco,  and  other 
products  in  fields  and  garden  beds,  and  made  unleavened  bread, 
from  pounded  maize,  which  they  boiled  in  earthen  vessels.  They 
tanned  skins  into  leather,  with  which  they  manufactured  kilts, 
leggins,  and  moccasins.*  Parkman  says  the  Hurons  also  culti- 
vated and  spun  hemp,  from  which  they  made  their  twine  and 
cordage. t 

In  the  organization  of  their  famous  confederacy,  in  their 
military  operations,  and  in  the  erection  of  defensive  work,  the 
Iroquois  showed  intelligence  and  ability  of  the  highest  order. J 

These  tribes  must,  therefore,  be  classed,  in  the  ethnical  scale,  a 
full  degree  above  the  ordinary  status  of  savagery.  The  Natchez, 
Creek,  Chickasaw,  Choctaw,  and  other  tribes  of  the  southern 
family,  belonged  to  the  same  general  class  of  high-type  red  Indians. 
They  were  still  further  advanced  in  some  of  the  domestic  arts. 
They  made  a  better  quality  and  greater  variety  of  earthenware  and 
cloth  fabrics.  They  lived  in  larger  towns,  and,  as  a  class,  under 
the  influence  of  a  milder  and  more  favorable  climate,  they  were 
more  devoted  to  agriculture.     There  is  a  popular  impression  that 

*  Smithsonian  Contributions  (Morgan),  Vol.  VI,  page  6. 

t  Jesuits. — Parkman,  XXX. 

X  Governor  DeWitt  Clinton,  of  Xew  York,  in  an  elaborate  lecture,  in  1811,  upon 
the  history  of  this  Indian  nation,  stated : 

"  The  proceedings  of  their  grand  council,  assembled  annually  at  Onondaga, 
were  conducted  with  great  deliberation,  and  were  distinguished  for  order,  decorum, 
and  solemnity.  In  eloquence,  in  dignity,  and  in  all  the  characteristics  of  personal 
policy,  they  surpassed  an  assemblage  of  feudal  barons,  and  were  not,  perhaps,  far 
inferior  to  the  great  Amphictyonic  council  of  Greece." 

President  Dwight,  of  Yale  College,  also  said  of  them : 

"  Their  conquests,  if  we  consider  their  numbers  and  their  circumstances,  were 
little  inferior  to  Rome  itself.  In  their  harmony,  in  the  unity  of  their  operations, 
the  energy  of  their  character,  the  vastness,  success,  and  vigor  of  their  enterprises, 
and  the  strength  and  sublimity  of  their  eloquence,  they  might  be  fairly  compared 
with  the  Greeks." 


14  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

the  historic  Indians  paid  little  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil,  as  a  means  of  living;  and  therefore,  that  as  a  race,  they  had 
not  the  ability  to  support  a  population  sufficiently  dense  for  the 
erection  of  the  imposing  earth-works  of  the  Mississippi  valley. 
This  is  an  error.  All  the  best  representative  tribes,  north  and 
south,  the  Iroquois,  the  Ohio,  and  Illinois  tribes,  and  the  whole 
family  of  southern  tribes,  cultivated  large  lields  of  maize  and  other 
products,  especially  during  periods  of  repose  and  freedom  from 
wars.  The  Choctaws,  in  their  ancient  home  east  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  were  called  "  a  nation  of  farmers."  Adair  mentions  a  maize 
field  of  the  Catawbas  of  South  Carolina,  "  seven  leagues  long,'^  a 
field  that  would  do  credit  to  the  prairie  farms  of  the  West.  The 
granaries  and  caches  of  the  natives,  we  are  told  by  De  Soto's 
historians,  furnished  his  soldiers  and  horses  with  their  main  sup- 
plies, and  often  in  abundance.* 

In  his  expedition  against  the  Cherokees,  in  1779,  General 
Shelby  is  said  to  have  destroyed  more  than  twenty  thousand  bush- 
els of  corn.  Maize,  or  corn,  was  indigenous.  It  was  one  of 
America's  gifts  to  civilization ;  and,  from  all  accounts,  hominy 
succotash,  and  mush  were  included  in  the  general  aboriginal  menu. 
What  better  proof  do  we  need  of  the  ability  of  the  Southern  In- 
dians to  support  themselves  by  agriculture  than  the  progress  made 
by  the  tribes  removed  to  the  Indian  Territory !  The  Creeks,  the 
Cherokees,  the  Choctaws,  the  Chickasaws,  have  not  only  demon- 
strated their  ability  to  become  a  nation  of  farmers,  but  are  already 
far  advanced  on  the  march  toward  civilization.  These  instances  of 
Indian  success  in  agriculture  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely. f 
They  clearly  establish  the  fact  that  the  advanced  tribes  of  historic 
Indians,  under  favorable  conditions,  had  the  ability  to  support  a 
very  large  population. 

Another  element  in  the  character  of  the  historic  Indian,  not 

■•••  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  Part  5,  page  203. 

t  See  Mounds  of  Mississippi  Valley  (Lucien  Carr),  page  7.  Lallemout  mentions 
twenty-nine  tribes  living  south  of  the  lakes,  as  "  sedentary  "  and  cultivators  of  the 
soil. — Jesuit  Relations  for  IB^O,  page  35. 


INTRODUCTORY.  15 

generally  credited  to  him,  is  a  certain  instinctive  knowledge  or 
appreciation  of  art,  natural  not  only  to  the  sedentary  tribes,  but 
even  to  the  more  nomadic  tribes.  ISTo  one  who  has  seen  the  handi- 
work of  the  village  Indians  of  the  Far  West  territories,  of  the 
Cherokees  or  Shawnees,  or  even  of  their  degenerate  kindred  of  the 
modern  frontier,  has  failed  to  observe  that  as  a  race  they  have 
a  natural  taste  and  dexterity  in  making  certain  classes  of  useful 
and  ornamental  articles.  This  was  also  a  characteristic  of  the 
ancient  Mexican  races,  and  of  the  Pueblo  tribes. 

It  seems  a  mysterious  Providence  that,  notwithstanding  their 
natural  abilities,  the  jSTorth  American  Indians  made  slow  progress 
toward  a  better  condition.  Their  history  ilhistrates  the  infinite 
pathos  of  human  life.  They  were  a  numerous  race,  occupying  a  vast 
and  productive  territory  through  long  ages,  and  in  many  centers  of 
partial  development ;  yet  whether  we  consider  them  in  their  most 
advanced  state,  as  an  Aztec  confederacy,  crumbling  "  like  a  race  of 
pigmies "  before  a  few  Spaniards,  or  as  humble  villagers  on  the 
banks  of  the  Cumberland,  a  prey  to  Iroquois  invasion,  they  never 
seemed  to  reach  a  stage  of  growth  necessary  to  permanency  and 
practical  civilization. 

The  spirit  of  individual,  family,  and  tribal  independence,  a 
characteristic  of  the  red  Indian  so  fatal  to  organization  and  de- 
velopment, was  doubtless  at  the  root  of  their  constant  failures. 
There  was  a  natural  tendency  to  disintegration  in  the  Indian 
system.  Haughty,  taciturn,  impracticable,  impatient  of  reproof, 
faithful  friends,  implacable  eijemies,  they  never  seemed  able  to 
grasp  the  principle  of  order,  submission,  and  union  necessary  to 
stability  and  enduring  progress. 

Many  causes  led  the  early  settlers  and  writers  to  underrate  the 
natural  abilities  and  capacities  of  the  Indian  race.  The  tribes  that 
wasted  their  numbers  and  strength  in  the  vain  effort  to  stay  the 
mighty  march  of  the  Western  pioneers,  became  more  savage  in  this 
very  frontier  warfare.  Revenge  and  despair,  the  occasional  viola- 
tion of  treaties,  the  destruction  of  their  towns  and  crops,  often  led 
them   to    abandon    the    pursuit    of   agriculture.     Contact  with    the 


16  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

whites  upon  the  frontier  also  sowed  the  seeds  of  discord  and 
degeneration. 

Thus,  to  the  eyes  and  imagination  of  our  pioneer  settlers,  the 
modern  Indian  appeared  chiefly  in  his  savage  character — the  type 
of  a  wild  race  of  hunters  and  warriors.  He  could  give  to  the  whites 
only  uncertain  traditions  as  to  the  strangely  formed  earth-works. 
He  knew  little  or  nothing  of  the  uses  of  many  of  the  stone  imple- 
ments and  antique  images.  He  shook  his  head  mysteriously,  and 
said  they  belonged  to  a  strange  and  unknown  race.  The  French 
trading  explorers  had  come  with  their  convenient  wares  of  iron, 
brass,  and  copper;  and  the  manufacture  of  pottery  soon  became  one 
of  the  lost  arts.  Arrow  points  and  implements  of  iron  supplanted 
those  of  flint. 

Thus,  also,  many  writers  were  led  to  draw  a  broad  distinction 
between  the  race  of  mound  builders  and  the  modern  Indians,  and 
to  magnify  the  works  and  intelligence  of  the  former  in  contrast 
with  the  uncivilized  condition  of  the  latter.  Modern  investigation 
has  broken  down  many  of  these  theories,  and  greatly  lessened  this 
contrast.  The  deeper  this  subject  is  probed  the  more  closely  they 
are  found  to  be  related,  until  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that 
they  can  not  be  divided  into  two  entirely  distinct  and  separate 
races. 

Passing  from  the  characteristics  of  the  historic  Indians,  to  an 
investigation  of  the  mounds,  implements,  pottery,  images,  pipes, 
tablets  and  pictographs  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Tennessee  and 
the  Mississippi  valley,  as  a  test  of  their  civilization,  or  stage  of 
development — we  enter  a  field  rich  in  archaeology.  The  investiga- 
tion in  the  main  tends  to  strengthen  the  historic  presumptions  as 
to  their  status  in  tlie  ethnical  scale. 

The  results  reached  may  be  briefly  summarized  as  follows  : 

First.  The  mounds  and  other  earth-works  of  Tennessee  and 
Southern  Kentucky  are  simply  the  remains  of  ancient  fortified 
towns,  villages,  and  settlements  once  inhabited  by  tribes  of  Indians, 
some  of  whom  were  more  devoted  to   agriculture,  more  stationary 


INTRODUCTOKY.  17 

in  their  habits,  and  more  advanced  in  culture  than  the  nomadic 
tribes  generally  known  to  the  whites. 

Second.  JSTothing  has  been  found  among  the  prehistoric  monu- 
ments and  remains  in  Tennessee,  or,  indeed,  elsewhere  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley,  indicating  an  ancient  civilization  or  semi-civilization. 
There  are  many  indications,  however,  of  a  state  of  native  society, 
primitive  and  rude,  yet,  in  some  respects,  more  progressive  and 
advanced  than  that  found  existing  among  the  historic  red  Indians 
at  the  date  of  European  settlement. 

Third.  The  remains  of  the  arts  and  industries  and  the 
cranial  remains  evidently  connect  the  ancient  tribes  that  occupied 
the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  valleys  wdth  the  native  tribes  of  the 
West  or  South-west,  of  the  sedentary  or  village  Indian  type. 
They  place  them  in  the  ethnic  scale  in  the  same  class  as  to  culture 
as  the  village  Indians  of  ISTew  Mexico  and  Arizona,  and  as  the 
village  tribes  of  old  Mexico.  The  cranial  remains  and  the  remains 
of  the  arts,  homogeneous  among  the  mound  tribes,  also  appear  to 
separate  the  advanced  tribes  of  mound  builders  from  the  more 
barbarous  tribes  of   northern  and  north-eastern  Indians. 

Fourth.  The  pottery  from  the  ancient  graves  in  Tennessee  is 
of  the  same  general  character,  and  is  frequently  identical  in  forms 
with  that  found  in  South-east  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Southern 
Illinois  and  Indiana,  indicating  that  these  districts  were,  at  some 
period  in  the  past,  occupied  by  the  same  tribe  or  closely  allied 
tribes.  There  are  also  evidences  of  the  most  intimate  tribal  and 
trade  relations  between  the  inhabitants  of  these  sections. 

Fifth.  The  remains  of  art  and  industry  found  in  Tennessee, 
including  pottery,  manufactured  cloth,  implements  of  stone,  pipes, 
shell-work,  and  other  useful  and  ornamental  articles,  as  a  whole, 
indicate  that  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Tennessee  probably  reached 
as  high  a  state  of  development  as  any  of  the  native  races  within  the 
present  territory  of  the  United  States. 

Sixth.  The  accumulation  of  a  dense  population  in  favored 
localities,  and  the  progress  made  toward  civilization,  were  probably 
2 


18  ANTIQUITIES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

the  results  of  periods  of  repose  and  peace,  that  enabled  certain 
tribes  to  collect  in  inore  permanent  habitations,  and  to  pursue  for 
a  time  more  peaceful  modes  of  life  than  some  of  their  neighbors 
and  successors.  These  periods  of  peace  and  advancement  were 
probably  succeeded  by  years  of  wars,  invasions,  migrations,  or 
changes  which  arrested  the  limited  development  in  the  arts  of 
peace  and  civilization,  and  left  the  native  tribes  in  the  status  in 
which  they  were  found  by  the  whites. 

These  conclusions  have  been  briefly  stated  in  serial  order,  that 
they  may  be  kept  in  mind  as  the  basis  for  the  more  particular 
statements  of  facts  and  illustrations  to  be  presented  in  subsequent 
chapters. 

The  primitive  manifestations  of  art  and  industry  found  among 
the  remains  iu  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  valleys,  and  in 
adjacent  states,  were  evidently  in  the  main  of  indigenous  growth. 
They  may  have  been  the  results  of  centuries  of  gradual  develop- 
ment within  these  boundaries,  or  thej'^  may  have  had  an  origin, 
borrowed  in  part  through  migratioii  or  inter-tribal  intercourse, 
from  the  sedentary  or  village  Indians  of  ISTew  or  Old  Mexico  or 
elsewhere.  We  are  inclined  to  the  latter  view.  The  evidences  of 
a  widely  extended  aboriginal  trade  and  inter-communication  are 
constantly  increasing,  and  will  be  presented  in  a  subsequent 
chapter. 

New  Mexico  and  Arizona  were  centers  of  a  very  ancient 
population.  JSTo  ruins  in  America  offer  evidences  of  greater  age 
than  the  remains  found  there.  Domestic  life  in  some  of  the 
pueblos  has  shown  no  material  change  in  the  centuries  that  have 
intervened  since  the  Spanish  expedition  under  Coronado  visited 
them  in  1540,  a  date  contemporaneous  with  De  Soto.''' 

It  can  scarcely  be  possible  that  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the ' 
Central  Mississippi  valley,  especially  those  along  the  lower  Arkan- 
sas river,  could  have  been  entirely  ignorant  of  the  pueblo  builders 
living  along  and  near  its  upper  tributaries  in  N^ew  Mexico.     From 

*  Contributions  to  Ethnology  (Morgan),  Vol.  IV,  page  150. 


INTRODUCTORY.  19 

this  highland  pueblo  district  the  Arkansas  flows  across  the  plains, 
down  into  the  very  heart  of  mound  and  pottery  development  in  the 
Mississippi  valley.* 

That  the  primitive  culture  centering  in  the  States  of  Arkansas, 
Missouri,  and  Tennessee  can  be  thus   easily  traced  to  the  ancient 

r 

semi-civilization  of  the  village  tribes  of  the  West  and  South-west, 
offers  at  least  one  most  reasonable  hypothesis  as  to  its  origin. 
Further  evidences  of  this  connection  will  be  presented  in  analogies 
and  illustrations  relating  to  the  arts  and  domestic  life  of  these  two 
sections.f 

It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  the  exact  relation  of  the  Stone  Grave 
race  of  Tennessee,  and  its  near  kindred  of  the  neighboring  states, 
to  the  historic  red  Indian.  At  the  period  of  early  European  settle- 
ment upon  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  for  more  than  a  century  later, 
the  French  discoverers  inform  us  that  the  Indian  occupants  of  this 
interior  section  were  involved  in  constant  and  exterminating  war- 
fare.;}:  It  was  a  period  of  tribal  "  reconstruction."  Whether  the 
fort  builders  and  pottery  makers  of  the  valleys  of  the  Cumberland 
and  Tennessee  were  overwhelmed,  dispersed,  and  became  practically 
extinct,  or  whether  they  were  absorbed  by  more  powerful  or  savage 

"••■  Prof.  Cyrus  Thomas,  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  in  charge  of  mound  explo- 
rations, states  that  "as  we  approach  the  Arkansas  river,  thence  to  Louisiana,  the 
native  pottery  improves  in  character  and  ornamentation,"  and  we  find  that  the 
entire  Mississippi  district  lying  nearest  to  New  and  Old  Mexico,  and  necessarily 
having  relations  more  or  less  intimate,  most  advanced  in  the  special  branch  of  art, 
which,  from  a  remote  period,  has  been  one  of  the  leading  industries  of  both  Mexico 
and  the  Pueblos. 

t  Lewis  H.  Morgan  regarded  the  mound  builders  of  the  Mississippi  valley  as 
village  Indians  of  the  same  status,  as  to  culture,  as  the  village  Indians  of  New  Mex- 
ico and  Arizona. — Contributions  to  Ethnology,  Vol.  IV',  page  198. 

X  Discovery  of  Mississippi  (Shea),  page  4.  There  was  no  tradition  of  a  time 
when  the  Miamis  were  at  peace  with  their  ancient  enemies,  the  Cherokees  and  the 
Chickasaws.  "  We  can  not  live  without  war.  Should  we  make  peace  with  the  Tus- 
caroras,  we  must  immediately  look  out  for  some  other  with  whom  we  can  engage  in 
our  beloved  occupation." — Reply  of  the  Cherokees  to  an  offer  to  bring  about  a  paci- 
fication between  them  and  the  Tuscaroras.  Ramsey's  Hist,  of  Tenn.  (Charleston, 
185.3),  page  83. 


20  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

conquerors,  and  became  members  of  the  Shawnee,  Natchez,  or  other 
tribes,  by  adoption,  may  never  be  known.  Prof.  Cyrus  Thomas,  of 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  insists  that  recent  investigations  estabhsh 
the  fact  that  the  stone  grave  builders  of  Tennessee  were  the  ances- 
tors of  the  ShaAvnees.* 

It  is  possible  that  this  once  powerful  nation  of  Indians,  and  its 
adherents,  who  are  reported  to  have  at  one  time  occupied  the 
greater  portion  of  the  vast  central  district  between  Lake  Erie  and 

*  "  The  proof  is  equally  conclusive  that  to  the  Shawnees  are  to  be  attributed  the 
box-shaped  stone  graves,  and  mounds  and  other  works  directly  connected  with 
them,  in  the  region  south  of  the  Ohio ;  especially  those  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
and  Northern  Georgia,  and,  possibly,  also  some  of  the  mounds  and  stone  graves  in 
the  vicinity  of  Cincinnati." — Work  in  Mound  Exploration,  Bureau  Ethnology 
(Cyrus  Thomas),  page  13.  "Their  mode  of  sepulture,"  he  states,  "is  so  marked 
in  its  peculiarities,  as  to  warrant  us  in  believing  it  to  be  an  ethnic  type,  limited  in 
its  use  to  a  single  stock  or  a  few  tribes." 

Dr.  Thomas  endeavored  to  trace  the  remains  of  the  wandering  tribes  of  Shaw- 
nees into  several  other  sections ;  into  North  Georgia,  Southern  Illinois,  and  por- 
tions of  Kentucky,  A^irginia,  and  West  Virginia,  and  even  into  Eastern  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  to  identify  them  or  their  tribal  kindred  as  the  builders  of  the  scattering 
stone  graves  in  these  sections. — American  Antiquarian  (Thomas),  May,  1885. 

His  reasoning  and  summary  of  facts  connecting  the  Stone  Grave  race  with  the 
Shawnees,  present  a  plausible  theory,  but  we  think  they  do  not  satisfactorily  prove 
his  conclusions.  The  Shawnees  belonged  to  the  Algonkin  family  of  Indians,  a  no- 
madic and  hunting  race ;  and  the  vestiges  of  art  and  industry  left  by  them  and  their 
kindred  Algonkins  in  New  England,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia,  are,  as  a  class,  much 
inferior  to  the  remains  found  within  the  well-known  area  occupied  by  the  mound 
builders.  According  to  Dr.  Daniel  Wilson,  and  other  authorities,  the  crania  of  the 
Algonkin  Indians  are  dolichocephalic,  or  long,  while  those  of  the  Stone  Grave  race 
are  brachycephalic,  or  short. — Prehistoric  Man,  Vol.  II,  page  184.  The  tribes  most 
closely  related  to  the  stone  grave  builders  of  Tennessee,  as  will  be  shown  later,  also 
resided  in  Arkansas  and  Missouri.  There  is  no  evidence  that  they  were  of  Shawnee 
stock.  They  did  not  construct  stone  graves,  for  the  reason  that  convenient  slabs  of 
stone  could  not  be  found  in  those  sections  of  country.  Prof.  Thomas  also  claims 
that  "  the  proof  is  conclusive  that  the  Cherokees  were  mound  builders,  and  that 
to  them  are  to  be  attributed  most  of  the  mounds  in  East  Tennessee  and  Western 
North  Carolina ;  also  that  the  ancient  works  in  Northern  Mississijipi  were  built 
chiefly  by  the  Chickasaws."— Work  in  Mound  Exploration,  Bureau  of  Ethnology 
(Thomas),  page  13. 


INTRODUCTORY,  21 

the  Savannah  river  of  Georgia,  experienced  reverses  that  resulted 
in  the  partial  abandonment  of  agriculture,  and  their  consequent 
degeneration  into  a  more  savage  state. 

Consider  the  influence  of  a  century  of  peace  upon  tribes  of 
Indians  like  the  Natchez,  the  Shawnees,  or  the  Hurons.  Peace  and 
agriculture  in  a  fertile  territory  might  have  enabled  them  to  de- 
velop the  highest  culture  represented  by  the  ancient  remains  of  art 
and  industry  in  the  Mississippi  valley.  Consider  the  effect  of  a  suc- 
ceeding century  of  wars,  invasions,  pestilence,  famine,  and  we  may 
have  the  key  to  the  apparent  decadence  of  the  North  American  In- 
dians. These  vicissitudes  have  marked  the  pathway  of  the  most 
civilized  nations.  Conquest  aud  progress  followed  by  degeneration 
and  decay  is  the  lesson  of  history.* 

There  is  no  mystery  in  the  disappearance  of  some  of  the  mound 
building  aborigines.  Scores  of  tribes  have  become  extinct  during 
the  last  three  centuries.  An  Indian  trail  is  now  almost  unknown, 
even  on  the  plains  of  the  far  West. 

The  Mandans,  of  the  North-west,  a  modern  tribe,  lived  in 
dwellings  probably  somewhat  similar  in  character  to  those  of  the 
Stone  Grave  race.  Catlin  describes  one  of  their  villages,  in  the 
bend  of  a  river,  protected  by  a  solid  stockade  and  ditch.  It  resem- 
bled, in  other  respects,  one  of  our  ancient  fortified  villages  in  Ten- 
nessee. The  Mandans  burned,  in  kilns,  an  excellent  variety  of  pot- 
tery. They  played  the  game  of  "  Chungke,"  with  discoidal  stones, 
as  did  the  southern  Indians  a  century  and  more  ago.  They  were 
once  a  strong  tribe ;  yet,  under  the  fatal  effects  of  disease  and  the 
unrelenting  persecutions  of  the  Sioux  tribes,  they  have  become 
nearly  extinct.f  Here,  doubtless,  is  an  epitome  of  the  life  and  fate 
of  some  of  the  mound  building  tribes. 

The  Shawnese  have  had  a  pathetic  history.     Dr.  Brinton  calls 

■'■•  The  most  civilized  nation  of  our  ancient  western  world,  the  Mayas  of  Central 
America,  who  built  the  imposing  and  almost  noble  structures  at  Palenque,  have 
lapsed  into  a  state  bordering  upon  savagery  since  the  Spanish  conquest. — Native 
Races  (Bancroft),  Vol.  IV,  page  280. 

t  Mound  Builders  (Force),  page  76. 


22  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

tliem  tlie  "  Gypsies  of  the  forest."  Their  eccentric  wanderings, 
their  sudden  appearances  and  disappearances,  perplex  the  antiquary 
and  defy  research.*  We  first  find  them  in  actual  history  about  the 
year  1660,  living  along  the  Cumberland  river,  or  along  the  Cumber- 
land and  Tennessee  rivers. f  Tradition  tells  us  they  had  come  from 
the  far  Sewanee,  or  Shawnee  river,  of  Florida,  and  from  the  Sa- 
vannah, in  Georgia.  An  ancient  Shawnee  village  and  stockade 
fort  was  built  upon  the  present  site  of  Nashville. |  They  were  a 
fine  type  of  the  native  American — the  tribe,  later,  of  Logan  and 
Tecumseh.ll 

For  a  century  or  more  they  held  sway.  Their  domain  ex- 
tended from  the  Ohio  to  the  Tennessee  river ;  but  these  fair  posses- 
ions were  the  constant  envy  of  their  neighbors.  They  were  never 
at  peace.  No  wonder  their  ancient  homes  upon  the  Cumberland 
were  fortified  like  the  walled  towns  of  feudal  Europe !  Each  settle- 
ment, probably,  had  its  castle  of  security.  The  Iroquois,  on  the 
north,  pressed  them  through  years  of  unrelenting  hate.  The 
Chickasaws  and  Choctaws  preyed  upon  them  from  the  south ;  the 
Cherokees  from  the  south-east.  The  Shawnees  were  finally  over- 
whelmed and  scattered.  They  fied  beyond  the  Ohio.  Their  towns 
and  villages  were  desolated  and  left  in  ashes,  and  they  were  com- 
pelled to  pay  tribute  to  that  powerful  confederacy  of  warriors — the 
Six  ISTations, 

They  occasionally  stole  back  to  their  ruined  homes  in  the  land 
of  their  fathers. §  The  Iroquois,  their  ancient  enemies,  sometimes 
hunted  the  Cherokees  even  to  the  banks  of  the  Tennessee,  yet  no 
claimant  dared  to  build  a  permanent  home  in  all  this  fair  territory  ; 
and  for  sixty  years  or  more,  prior  to  its  first  settlement  by  the 

*  Life  ot  Pontiac  (Park^),  Vol.  I,  page  32. 

t  American  Antiquarian  (M.  F.  Force),  April,  1881. 

t  Ramsey's  History  of  Tennessee  (Charleston,  1853),  page  79. 

li  Tecumseh's  father  was  a  Shawnee  Indian,  his  mother  a  Creek— an  indication 
of  the  intermixture  o/  tribes. 

'i  In  the  vicinity  of  IS^ashville  we  have  found  a  number  of  relics  of  iron,  French 
traders'  pipes,  and  other  evidences  of  modern  Indian  occupation. 


INTRODUCTORY.  23 

whites,  Tennessee  was  an  uninhabited  wilderness.  The  trees  grew 
still  larger  upon  its  mounds  and  earth-works.  Its  maize  fields 
again  became  a  forest.  President  William  Henry  Harrison,  an  emi- 
nent antiquarian  in  his  day,  tells  us,  in  a  paper  relating  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  Indians,  that  even  "  the  beautiful  Ohio  rolled  its  amber 
tide  until  it  paid  tribute  to  the  Father  of  Waters,  through  an  un- 
broken solitude  for  nearly  a  century." 

Dr.  D.  G.  Brinton,  in  a  carefully  prepared  paper,  maintains 
that  the  ancestors  of  the  Chatta-Muskogee  tribes  were  probably  the 
original  mound  building  stock  or  family.  These  tribes  embraced 
the  Choctaws,  Chickasaws,  Natchez,  and  other  allied  southern  In- 
dians, Within  the  historic  period,  as  we  learn  from  early  writers, 
they  were  builders  of  earth- works  and  mound  defenses.  The 
widely  spread  traditions  of  the  northern  Indians,  indicating  that 
the  race  that  built  the  imposing  structures  in  the  Ohio  valley  were 
driven  to  the  southward,  also  favored  this  view ;  as  does  the  fact 
that  the  mounds  of  Tennessee  do  not  appear  to  be  of  so  early  a 
period  as  the  Ohio  mounds. 

The  Natchez  were  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  advanced  tribes 
among  the  southern  Indians.* 

Their  own  traditions,  as  reported  by  the  French  and  Spanish 
explorers,  and  by  DuPratz,  the  early  historian  of  Louisiana,  seem 
to  confirm  the  view  that  they  have  been  descendants  of  one  of  the 
prehistoric  tribes  of  mound  builders.  DuPratz  resided  among  the 
Natchez  Indians.  He  had  the  confidence  of  the  "  Great  Sun  "  and 
of  the  "  Keeper  of  the  Temple,"  and  ample  opportunity  to  obtain 
full  knowledge  of  the  history  and  legends  of  this  interesting  tribe. 
"According  to  their  traditions,"  he  states,  "  they  were  the  most 
powerful  nation  of  all  North  America,  and  were  looked  upon  by 
the  other  nations  as  their  superiors."     Their  territory,  as  reported 

*  Dr.  Joseph  Jones,  eminent  authority  on  this  subject,  regarded  the  Natchez  as 
probably  belonging  to  the  ancient  family  of  mound  builders.— Aboriginal  Remains 
(Jones),  page  125.  Dr.  Rau,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  stated  that  the  Natchez 
were  "perhaps  the  most  civilized  among  the  North  American  Indians." — Smithson- 
ian Report,  1866. 


24  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

by  DuPratz,  extended  from  the  River  Manchac,  or  Iberville,  near 
the  Gulf,  to  the  River  Wabash,  and  they  had  eight  hundred  '■'■  suns," 
or  princes;  but  the  multitude  of  rulers,  their  pride  and  jealousy  of 
each  other,  their  inhuman  practice  of  sacrificing  their  subjects,  and 
"  the  prejudices  of  the  people,"  finally  contributed  more  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  Natchez  than  their  long  and  bloody  wars.* 

Their  traditions  dated  back  to  a  period  before  the  advent  of  the 
first  Spaniards.  They  also  appear  to  indicate  a  knowledge  of  the 
pueblos  of  New  Mexico,  as  early  as  the  year  1730,  when  DuPratz 
resided  among  them,  and  before  information  as  to  the  pueblo  dis- 
tricts was  generally  distributed,  as  they  gave  accounts  to  DuPratz 
of  a  people  to  the  west  or  south-west  "  who  had  a  great  num- 
ber of  large  and  small  villages,  which  were  all  built  of  stone,  and 
in  which  there  were  houses  large  enough  to  lodge  a  whole  tribe."  f 

Whether  the  manifestations  of  the  limited  culture  discovered 
among  the  mound-remains  of  the  Mississippi  valley  were  of  indige- 
nous growth,  or  in  part  or  whole  of  exotic  origin,  it  seems  a  most 
reasonable  hypothesis,  that  it  descended  upon  or  left  its  impress 
upon  tribes  of  southern  Indians  like  the  Natchez,  who,  when  first 
discovered  by  the  whites,  retained  many  evidences  of  this  culture, 
and  in  the  humble  arts  of  domestic  life  were  much  in  advance  of 
the  red  Indians  of  the  North. 

This  appears  to  be  more  in  accord  with  the  truth  than  the 
more  popular  theory  that  the  mound  builders  belonged  to  some 
superior  and  very  advanced  race,  and  that  they  and  their  arts  and 
industries  became  wholly  extinct,  or  were  spirited  away  to  some 
unknown  region. 

The  remains  found  sometimes  show  strange  contradictions, 
evidences  of  apparent  culture  in  the  midst  of  real  rudeness ;  but 
upon  investigation,  they  do  not  indicate  an  advanced  state  of 
society.  Rare  and  unique  forms  of  stone,  clay,  bone,  shell,  and 
copper ,  mysterious  objects  whose  exact  uses  we  can  not  always  dis- 

•■•'  History  of  Louisiana,  Vol.  II,  p.  146. 
t  History  of  Louisiana,  Vol.  II,  p.  113. 


INTRODUCTORY.  25 

cover;  beautiful  implements,  wrought  with  inliuite  labor  and  no 
little  skill,  have  been  found ;  yet  all  are  consistent  with  the  theory 
of  a  comparatively  rude  condition  of  society. 

No  well  authenticated  prehistoric  implement,  or  article  of  iron, 
or  evidence  of  manufactured  iron,  has  been  found,  excepting  objects 
made  from  the  unmelted  ores.  Objects  of  native  copper,  hammered 
into  form,  and  an  occasional  ornament  of  hammered  silver,  have 
been  discovered,  but  none  of  melted  copper,  or  bronze,  or  silver. 
Even  the  uses  of  melted  galena,  or  lead,  the  most  easily  worked  of 
all  the  native  ores,  were  not  discovered. 

No  writing  or  intelligible  inscription  indicating  a  written 
language  or  decipherable  symbol  language,  no  pictograph,  or  tablet, 
or  inscription  in  the  higher  grades  of  hieroglyphic  writing,  no  cloth 
or  fabric  of  the  finer  grades  of  manufacture,  no  piece  of  regular 
masonry  or  of  well-built  stone  wall,  or  house,  or  house  foundation 
of  stone,  or  walled  well,  or  house  or  wall  of  brick,  or  remains  of 
architecture  worthy  of  the  name,  have  been  found  in  all  the  vast 
territory  of  the  Mississippi  valley.* 

The  idols  and  images  of  stone  found  are  usually  very  rude  and 
of  a  low  grade  of  sculpture.  Vessels  and  other  objects  of  well- 
burned  and  of  sun-dried  clay  are  found  in  abundance,  of  original, 
varied,  and  even  artistic  forms,  indicating,  probably,  the  highest 
development  attained  north  of  Mexico.  Occasionally,  some  Indian 
artisan  seems  to  have  reached  almost  the  standards  of  modern  art 
in  clay.  We  are  surprised  at  the  quaint  vessels  and  figures,  and  at 
their  graces  of  outline.  They  have  almost  the  ring  of  vitrified 
ware;  but,  upon  surveying  the  pottery  as  a  whole,  it  is  found  to  be 
essentially  primitive.  It  is  without  glaze.  It  shows  no  knowledge 
of  the  potter's  wheel,  and  was  of  necessity  manufactured  and  used 
amid  rude  surroundings   and  in  siniply  constructed  huts  or  houses 

*  The  remains  of  the  supposed  burned  brick  wall  of  the  ancient  mound  at  Selt- 
zerville,  Mississippi,  have  been  found  to  be  only  fragments  of  bui-ned  clay  from  the 
ancient  clay  hearths  of  the  mound,  or  clay  plaster  from  the  sides  of  the  primitive 
dwellings.  Pome  remains  of  house  walls  of  stone  have  been  found  in  Missouri,  but 
they  are  very  rude  in  character. 


26  ANTIQUITIES    OP    TENNESSEE. 

of  a  character  so  temporary  and  perishable  that  scarcely  a  trace  of 
thena  remains.  The  aristocratic  villagers  who  used  the  ornamented 
vessels  of  clay  found  in  the  cemeteries  near  JSTashville  doubtless 
dined  after  the  Indian  style  on  clay  floors,  and  certainly  used 
muscle  shells  for  spoons,  and  chipped  stone  knives — as  these  articles 
were  found  carefully  laid  in  their  graves  beside  the  vessels  of  clay 
containing  provisions  to  feed  them  on  their  way  to  the  spirit  land. 

Indeed,  all  the  infinite  variety  of  articles  and  antiquities  found 
within  the  limits  of  the  mound  area,  once  occupied  by  a  widely 
spread  native  population,  after  centuries  of  exploration,  tell  only 
the  same  positive  story  of  primitive  barbaric  life,  the  life  of  the 
town,  village,  and  hunting  Indian. 

The  author  has  personally  assisted  in  exploring  many  mounds 
and  ancient  cemeteries.  He  has  also  carefully  examined  a  large 
number  of  collections  and  museums  of  American  archaeology.  The 
result  is  disappointing  to  any  one  searching  for  evidences  of  ancient 
civilization  among  the  remains  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  He  will 
find  only  the  remains  of  ancient  savagery  or  barbarism,  with  here 
and  there  a  glimpse  of  semi-civilization.  The  illustrations  in  the 
chapters  following  present  some  of  the  highest  types  of  prehistoric 
art  yet  discovered  north  of  Mexico,  and,  therefore,  in  themselves, 
offer  the  strongest  argument  possible  in  favor  of  "  the  superior  race, 
and  advanced  culture,"  theory ;  nevertheless,  we  are  of  opinion  that 
they  are  not  sufiicient  to  modify  the  general  views  expressed  upon 
this  subject. 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WOBKS.  27 


CHAPTER    TI. 

THE  ANCIENT  GRAVES  AND  EARTH- WORKS. 

The  Stone  Graves— Sumner  County  Earth-works— The  Lebanon  Works— The  Big 
Harpeth  Works— Old  Town— The  West  Harpeth  Works— The  Stone  Fort— The 
Savannah  Works — Other  Ancient  Works— Rock  Houses— The  Age  of  the  Stone 
Graves — The  Chronicles  of  De  Soto — Description  of  Native  Towns  Visited — 
Other  Historic  Testimony — Battle  of  the  Horseshoe— Mounds  Constructed 
Since  the  Discovery — Who  were  the  Mound  Builders?— The  Relation  of  the 
Stone  Grave  Race  to  the  Mound  Builders  of  Illinois,  Arkansas,  and  Missouri. 

The  ancient  tumuli,  embankments,  and  defensive  works  found 
in  Tennessee,  present  the  2:eneral  physical  characteristics  of  the 
earth-works  of  the  mound  building  tribes  of  the  central  district  of 
the  Mississippi  valley.  They  are  found  along  all  the  main  streams, 
and  in  nearly  every  section  of  the  state.  In  East  Tennessee,  they 
vary  in  form  and  construction.  A  number  of  them  have  been  ex- 
plored by  the  assistants  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  and  interesting 
details  regarding  them  have  been  published  in  its  annual  reports 
and  in  the  reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  Dr.  Joseph 
Jones  and  Prof.  F.  W.  Putnam,  two  most  intelligent  archceologists, 
have  explored  several  of  the  mound  groups  of  Middle  Tennessee, 
and  published  the  results  of  their  investigations.* 

The  earth-works  of  Tennessee  and  the  Cumberland  valley  are 
usually  simpler  in  form  than  the  elaborate  works  in  the  Ohio  valley 
or  the  larger  works  along  the  Mississippi  river.  They  spring  up 
from  the  green  sward,  or  in  the  cultivated  fields,  or  in  the  depths  of 
the  forests ;  sometimes  in  the  steep,  cone-shaped  forms  of  their 
original  outlines,  but  more  frequently  the  elevations  are  slight  and 
scarcely    noticeable.     Occasionally,   a    mound   is   found    alone,  and 

*  Aboriginal  Remains  of  Tennessee.     J.  Jones.     Published  by  the  Smithsonian 
Institution.     Eleventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  page  305. 


28  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

apparently  apart  from  any  system  of  defenses  or  connecting  works ; 
but  they  are  generally  in  groups,  with  inclosures  or  embankments, 
or  near  the  remains  of  defensive  works  that  appear  to  have  been 
occupied  as  fortified  towns,  villages,  or  camps.  The  usual  height  of 
the  chief  mounds  of  the  groups  was  probably  originally  from 
fifteen  to  thirty  feet.  A  few  mounds  in  the  state,  however,  are 
much  higher. 

The  stone  grave  cemeteries  constructed  by  the  ancient  inhabit- 
ants of  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  valleys  indicate  the  presence 
at  one  time  of  a  very  large  population.  Like  their  successors  of  the 
white  race,  the  aborigines  usually  selected  the  most  fertile,  well 
watered,  and  accessible  locations  for  their  homes.  Here  they  had 
healthful  and  picturesque  surroundings.  The  burial  grounds  on 
Brown's  creek,  near  ^N^ashville,  recently  discovered,  contain  three  or 
four  thousand  graves,  and  smaller  cemeteries  have  been  found  on 
nearly  all  the  adjoining  farms.  Prof.  Putnam  and  his  assistants 
explored  about  six  thousand  graves,  the  majority  of  them  in  the 
vicinity  of  Nashville.  Dr.  Jones  examined  a  large  number,  in  some 
fifteen  difterent  cemeteries.  Dr.  Troost,  the  learned  geologist  of 
Tennessee,  reported  six  very  large  cemeteries  near  Nashville.  He 
stated,  "  that  the  ancient  burial  grounds  on  the  banks  of  the  Cum- 
berland river,  opposite  Nashville,  extended,  in  1844,  more  than  a 
mile  along  the  river."  * 

These  remains  of  the  Stone  Grave  race  are  found  in  other 
sections  of  the  state,  but  their  most  populous  villages  were  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee,  and  in  Southern  Ken- 
tucky. Graves  of  similar  construction  have  also  been  discovered  in 
several  localities  in  Southern  Illinois,  in  Southern  Indiana,  in 
Georgia,  and  in  Ohio.  Doubtless,  they  would  be  found  in  West 
Tennessee,  and  in  the  mound  and  pottery  districts  of  Arkansas  and 
Missouri,  but  the  necessary  stone  could  not  be  obtained  in  these 
alluvial  regions.f 

*  Transactions  of  the  American  Ethnological  Society,  Vol.  I,  page  359. 
t  A  few  stone  cists  have  been  found  in  Perry  county,  and  near  Fenton,  Mis- 
souri.    Conant,  pages  45,  46.     There  were  no  quarries  of  stone  of  easy  cleavage  in 


THE    ANCIEJST    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS.  29 

The  rude  cists  or  box-sliaped  coffins  are  made  of  thin  slabs  of 
stone.  Sometimes  the  stones  are  broken  or  cut,  or  rubbed  down  so 
as  to  fit  evenly  and  form  a  well-shaped  case,  but  more  frequently 
they  are  rudely  joined  together.  Occasionally,  they  are  found  in 
mounds  or  layers,  four  or  five  tiers  of  graves  deep.  The  graves  are 
usually  six  or  seven  feet  long,  a  foot  and  a  half  to  two  feet  wide, 
and  eighteen  inches  deep ;  but  graves  of  greatly  varying  sizes  and 
shapes  are  found  intermingled  with  those  of  more  regular  form. 
The  children's  graves  are  proportionately  smaller.  Frequently,  the 
same  cist  contains  two  or  three  skeletons,  and  is  not  more  than 
three  or  four  feet  long,  the  bones  having  been  placed  in  a  pile 
irregularly  within  it,  indicating  that  they  were  probably  interred 
long  after  death,  and  after  some  intermediate  preparation  or  cere- 
monies similar  to  the  burial  customs  of  some  of  the  historic  tribes.* 

Many  of  the  graves  in  the  vicinity  of  I^^ashville  are  lined  with 
large,  thick  fragments  of  broken  pottery,  as  neatly  joined  together 
as  if  molded  for  the  purpose.  The  author  recently  excavated 
several  graves  of  this  kind  on  Hon.  W.  F.  Cooper's  farm,  near 
Nashville.  The  pottery  burial  cases  were  symmetrically  formed, 
and  seemed  to  be  molded  in  single  pieces,  until  an  attempt  was 
made  to  raise  them,  when  they  fell  apart,  and  were  found  to  be 
composed  of  neatly -joined  fragments  of  large  vessels ;  the  heavy 
rims  of  the  vessels,  more  than  an  inch  and  a  half  thick,  having 
been  used  as  rims  or  borders  for  the  burial  cases. 

A  small  burial  case  of  well-baked  clay,  carefully  molded  in  two 
sections,  was  found  some  years  ago  by  Captain  W.  P.  Hall,  in  a  low 
mound  at  Hale's  Point,  Tennessee,  and  is  shown  in  Figure  1. 

the  New  Madrid  district.     Conant,  page  60.     A  few  stone  graves  have  been  found  in 
McNairy  county,  West  Tennessee. 

"■■•■  There  is  no  foundation  whatever  for  the  popular  myth  tliat  the  graves  of  a 
race  of  pigmies  were  found  near  Sparta,  or  elsewhere  in  Tennessee.  The  finding  of 
a  large  number  of  short  stone  graves  doubtless  gave  rise  to  this  erroneous  idea. 
Haywood,  the  early  historian  of  the  state,  who  sometimes  wove  fables  into  his 
history,  confirmed  the  statement;  but  it  is  not  true.  Dr.  Joseph  Jones  reports  that, 
*'  he  examined  the  bones  of  fifteen  aboriginal  cemeteries,  without  discovering  a 
single  skeleton  of  an  adult  of  unusually  small  size." 


30 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


Prof.  W.  II.  Pratt  gives  the  following  description  of  it :  "  It  is 
of  rude,  irregular,  quadrangular  form,  made  in  two  parts.  The 
lower,  or  case  proper,  is  twelve  inches  long,  seven  inches  wide,  and 
five  inches  deep,  inside  measure,  the  upper  edge  being  slightly  bent 
inward  all  around.  The  upper  part,  or  lid,  is  of  similar  form  and 
dimensions,  being  very  slightly  larger,  so  as  to  close  down  over  the 
other  part  about  one   and   a   half   inches,   and  is  somewhat  more 


Fig.  1. — Burial  Casket  of  Pottkry  (Hale's  1'uint,  Tennessee).* 


shallow.  As  the  lid  does  not  fit  very  perfectly,  the  joint  around 
the  edge  has  been  plastered  up  with  clay.  "When  found,  it  con- 
tained the  remains  of  a  very  small  child,  reduced  to  dust,  except 
that  some  of  the  skull,  jaw,  and  limbs  retained  their  form,  crum- 
bling rapidly,  however,  upon  removal  and  exposure  to  the  air. 
There  were  also  found  two  or  three  dozen  small  shell  beads.  Ex- 
cepting the  remains  described,  the  case  was  entirely  empty.  The 
case  weighs  six  and  a  quarter,  and  the  lid  just  six,  pounds."    This  is 

*  It  is  now  in  the  collection  of  the  Davenport  Academy  of  Sciences. 


THE  ANCIENT  GRAVES  AND  EARTH- WORKS.  31 

one  of  the  very  few  vessels  that  would  seem  to  have  been  con- 
structed especially  for  mortuary  purposes.* 

Nearly  all  the  stone  graves  are  found  to  be  filled  with  earth 
inside,  by  infiltration.  The  roots  of  trees  have  penetrated  them. 
The  very  skulls  are  usually  packed  solid  with  earth,  but  now  and 
then  the  iron  pick  will  strike  a  hollow  cist  in  its  original  state,  and 
the  fortunate  explorer  may  be  rewarded  by  finding  a  vessel  or  bowl 
of  clay,  perhaps  two  or  three,  within  easy  grasp,  beside  the  still  un- 
covered skeleton,  and  he  will  thus  secure  a  better  opportunity  of 
observing  at  his  leisure  all  the  interesting  details  of  the  burial. 

The  vessels  of  pottery,  which  probably  once  contained  food  and 
drink  for  the  journey  to  the  "happy  hunting  ground,"  are  usually 
in  some  convenient  place  beside  the  body — sometimes  within  the 
very  bones  of  the  hand  ready  for  use.  Spoons  of  shell,  generally 
inside  the  vessels,  implements  for  eating,  and  valued  mementoes, 
are  also  found,  f 

These  stone  graves  are  not  always  discovered  in  cemeteries  or 
large  groups.  Their  location  upon  almost  every  large  farm  in  the 
central  counties  of  Tennessee  indicates  not  only  the  presence  of  a 
very  large  population,  but  that  it  was  generally  and  widely  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  country,  probably  in  peaceful  settlements 
through  a  long  period  of  time,  thus  doubtless  enabling  this  ancient 
race  to  make  progress  m  the  simpler  arts  and  industries,  beyond  the 
status  of  the  more  savage  tribes. 

Sometimes  a  little  cluster  of  stone  graves  is  found,  with  the 
usual  accompaniments  of  pottery  and  rude  ornaments,  like  many 
modern  plantation  burial  places,  containing  the  remains  of  a  sino-le 

*  W.  H.  Holmes,  in  Report  Ethnological  Bureau,  Vol.  IV,  page  381. 

t  For  further  information  as  to  the  methods  of  burial  and  construction  of 
graves,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  valuable  publications  of  Dr.  Jones  and  Prof. 
Putnam.  A  number  of  cave  burials  in  Tennessee  were  reported  by  Haywood  and 
the  early  writers.  The  bodies  were  discovered  wrapped  in  skins,  mattings,  cloth, 
and  feather  fabrics,  somewhat  resembling  the  mummy  burials  of  Mexico,  Peru,  and 
Alaska.  The  saltpeter  of  the  caves  preserved  them  from  decay.  The  author  has 
not  been  able  to  find  any  trace  of  the  remains  of  these  cave  burials  in  the  public  or 
private  antiquarian  collections  of  Tennessee. 


32  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

family,  or  group  of  families,  that  doubtless  lived  an  agricultural  life 
in  its  own  farm  dwellings.  The  remains  sometimes  found  in  these 
small  isolated  burial  grounds  show  that  some  of  these  villagers  or 
country  people  must  have  been  supplied  with  many  of  the  domestic 
conveniences  enjoyed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  larger  towns. 

The  cemeteries  of  the  fortified  towns  and  villages  were  usually 
within  the  lines  of  defense,  although  scattering  graves  are  found 
outside. 

The  system  of  fortifying  these  settlements  may  not  have  been 
adopted  in  the  earlier  stage  of  occupation,  but  probably  grew  nec- 
essary later,  as  a  protection  against  the  inroads  of  more  powerful 
neighbors,  and  may  indicate  the  beginnings  of  the  wars  and  changes 
that  ultimately  forced  the  Stone  Grave  race  from  its  home  in  Middle 
Tennessee.  The  apparent  absence  of  the  remains  of  forts,  inclos- 
ures,  or  defensive  works,  and  the  evidences  of  the  very  large  popu- 
lation that  centered  in  the  immediate  Cumberland  valley,  and  within 
a  radius  of  ten  miles  from  N'ashville,  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
well-fortified  settlements  in  the  adjoining  counties  of  Sumner, 
Wilson,  and  "Williamson,  were  outlying  or  frontier  forts  or  defenses, 
especially  designed  to  protect  this  large  interior  population  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Nashville  from  attack  on  the  north,  east,  and 
south.  Forts  were  probably  not  needed  on  the  western  and  north- 
western sides,  already  occupied  by  villages  and  settlements  of  the 
same  race.  Within  the  protecting  semi-circle  of  these  outlying 
forts  it  appears  from  the  remains  found,  that  the  industrious  and 
somewhat  progressive  race  of  stone  grave  builders  lived  through 
several  and  perhaps  through  many  generations. 

Groups  of  earth-works,  representing  several  of  these  outlying 
forts  or  fortified  villages,  may  still  be  seen  in  the  adjacent  counties, 
in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  A  ground  plan  or  map  of  the 
works  on  the  Rutherford-Kiser  farms,  in  Sumner  county,  near 
Sandersville,  Tennessee,  about  twenty  miles  north-east  of  iN'ashville, 
as  they  now  appear,  will  give  a  tolerably  correct  idea  of  one  of  these 
ancient  forts. 

This  work  incloses  about  fourteen  acres.     The  earth  lines  and 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS.  66 

smaller  mounds  in  the  cultivated  field  are  nearly  obliterated,  but  in 
the  woodland  they  are  well  preserved.  The  chief  mound  near  the 
center,  nearly  twenty-six  feet  high,  has  still  its  flat  top  plat- 
form, its  sharp  outlines  and  steep  sides.  It  is  about  three  hundred 
and  eighteen  feet  in  circumference,  and  is  entirely  artificial,  having 
been  constructed  of  earth  excavated  near  its  base.  The  small  ele- 
vations represented  on  the  plan  are  burial  mounds,  with  stone 
graves  radiating  from  the  center.     The  mounds  next  in  size  were 


Section  ofearlkline,  Section  of  large  mouTiol  Low  TnounoLs 

Fig.  2. — Map  of  the  Earth-works  in  Sumner  County,  Tennessee.* 

probably  formed  by  the  debris  of  the  ancient  dwellings.  They  are 
circular  or  elliptical  in  form,  averaging  about  thirty  feet  in  diame- 
ter, with  the  remains  of  burnt  clay  or  ancient  fire  hearths  in  the 
center.  At  irregular  intervals  along  the  earth  lines  in  the  wood- 
land, angles  of  earth  project  about  ten  feet  beyond  the  general  line, 
indicating  the  location  of  towers  or  rude  bastions  in  the  stockade  or 
wall  line.  Some  of  them  were  doubtless  protected  openings  or 
gateways.     In  the  burial  mounds  have  been  found  many  fine  imple- 

*  Surveyed  by  W.  H.  Edwards,  Esq.,  and  drawn  by  the  writer. 
3 


34 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   TENNESSEE. 


ments  and  vessels  of  pottery.  At  Castalian  Springs,  or  Bledsoe's 
Lick,  in  Sumner  county,  aboriginal  works  of  much  interest  may 
also  be  found. 

The  ancient  earth-works  on  the  Lindsley  farm,  near  Lebanon, 


t"!5^'^^^^^^^^S^     StctioriotRiBg  S^n|hroi 


Fig.  3.— The  Earth-works  near  Lebanon,  Tennessee.* 

Tennessee,  about  thirty-five  miles  east  of  Nashville,  are  of  the  same 
general  character. 

This  is  a  good  type  of  an  ancient  fortified  or  walled  settlement. 
It  contains  about  ten  acres  of  land.  The  usual  great  mound  is  near 
the  center  (A).     A   large   number  of  the    smaller  elevations  were 

*  Map  reduced  from  Prof.  Putnam's  plan  in  the  Eleventh  Annual  Report  Pea- 
body  Museum,  page  338. 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS.  35 

found  to  be  the  remains  of  dwelling-houses  or  wigwams.  When 
the  earth  was  cleared  away,  hard,  circular  floors  were  disclosed, 
with  burnt  clay  or  ancient  hearths  in  the  center,  indicating  that 
these  habitations  were  probably  very  similar  in  form  to  the  circular 
lodges  of  many  tribes  of  modern  Indians,  arranged  for  fires  in  the 
center,  and  doubtless  they  had  openings  in  the  roof  to  let  out  the 
smoke. 

The  fact  that  the  houses  or  wigwams  were  irregularly  scat- 
tered within  the  inclosures,  also  establishes  the  primitive  character 
of  the  settlement ;  yet,  beneath  the  floors  of  these  rude  structures,* 
and  within  the  adjacent  burial  mounds,  were  found  some  of  the 
finest  specimens  of  pottery  and  ancient  art  yet  discovered  in  the 
mounds,  indicating  that  these  villagers  of  the  Stone  Grave  race 
had  probably  reached  a  stage  of  development  as  advanced  as  that  of 
any  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  Some 
of  these  fine  specimens  will  be  illustrated  in  subsequent  chapters.f 

On  the  south-west  bank  of  the  Big  Harpeth  river,  in  William- 
son county,  Tennessee,  on  the  De  Grafienreid  farm,  about  two  and  a 
half  miles  from  Franklin,  the  county  seat,  and  twenty  miles  south 
of  ^N^ashville,  vestiges  of  the  ancient  ditch  and  embankment  of  a 
fortified  settlement  are  still  visible,  although  the  land  has  been 
under ,  cultivation  for  nearly  a  century.  The  inclosure  contains 
about  thirty-two  acres  of  land. 

"The  earth-work,"  as  described  by  Dr.  Joseph  Jones,  who 
carefully  surveyed  it,  "  is  in  the  form  of  a  crescent  or  semicircle, 
three  thousand  eight  hundred  feet  in  length,  with  the  ends  resting 
on  an  impassable,  almost  perpendicular  blufl^  of  the  river,  rising 
about  forty  feet  from  the  water's  edge.     The  land  slopes  gradually 

*  In  exploring  the  remains  of  the  ancient  pueblos,  in  Arizona,  in  1887,  Frank 
Gushing  and  Dr.  TenKate  found  it  was  the  common  practice  of  pueblo  Indians  to 
bury  the  dead  under  their  dwellings.  It  was  also  a  custom  of  the  Creeks,  Chicka- 
saws,  and  other  historic  tribes. 

t  In  the  Eleventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  will  be  found  Prof. 
Putnam's  interesting  account  of  his  explorations  in  this  group  of  works,  with  illus- 
trations of  the  relics  discovered. 


36 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


away  from  tlie  earth-work.  The  situation  was  admirahly  chosen 
for  defense,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  a  protracted  siege,  as  there 
is  an  abundant  supply  of  drinking  water,  and  the  soil  of  the 
inclosure  is  of  great  fertility. 

"  Within  the  earth-works  are  nine  mounds;  the  largest,  marked 
A  in  the  following  plan,  resembling  a  parallelogram,  the  sides  and 
angles  of  which  have  been  rounded  by  the  plowshare,  is  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty  feet  in  length,  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  in  breadth, 


% 


^'%JII,,^S>cale  300  ft. to  Uie  in.^ 


Fig.  4. — Plan  op  the  De  Graffenreid  Works,  Williamson  County,  Tennessee.* 

and  sixteen  feet  in  height ;  the  remaining  mounds  vary  from  one 
hundred  to  twenty -five  feet  in  diameter,  and  from  one  to  four  feet 
in  height. 

"  When  the  ground  inclosed  by  the  earth-work  was  cleared, 
about  forty  years  ago,  the  mounds  and  ditch  are  said  to  have  been 
covered  with  large  trees,  equal  in  size  and  age  to  those  in  the  sur- 
rounding forests.     A  white  oak  four  feet  in  diameter  is  said  to  have 


*  From  Aboriginal  Remains  of  Tennessee  (Jones),  page  56. 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS.  37 

stood  in  the  ditch.  There  were  seven  'passways'  over  the  works, 
at  convenient  distances  from  each  other,  and  about  eight  feet  wide, 
as  long  as  the  earth  remained  as  the  aborigines  had  left  it.  At  that 
time,  the  ditch  was  five  or  six  feet  wide  and  three  or  four  feet  deep. 
The  earth  forming  the  embankments  appears  to  have  been  thrown 
upon  the  outside,  so  that  the  ditch  was  within  the  line  of  fortifica- 
tions. Both  the  earth  wall  and  ditch  have  been  greatly  altered  by 
the  weather  and  by  the  plowshare,  so  that  at  present  they  are  in 
some  places  scarcely  visible,  and  it  is  impossible  to  determine  either 
the  original  height  of  the  one  or  the  depth  of  the  other.  Near 
where  the  intrenchment  strikes  the  river  bank,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  steep  bluff",  is  a  large  and  never-faihng  spring  of  excel- 
lent water.  At  another  portion  of  the  inclosure,  indicated  on  the 
plan,  there  is  a  covert-way,  or  ditch,  leading  to  the  bluff,  and  down 
through  a  crevice  to  the  river's  edge. 

"  The  large,  oblong  mound.  A,  had  no  stone  graves  in  its  upper 
layer,  but  a  shaft  sunk  into  its  center,  through  its  entire  depth,  re- 
vealed, near  the  bottom  and  close  to  the  original  surface  of  the 
earth,  a  hard,  red,  burned  surface  or  altar,  with  ashes  and  charcoal 
resting  on  it.  It  appears  that  the  mass  of  earth  composing  the 
mound  had  been  erected  upon  the  altar. 

"  The  four  next  largest  mounds  (B,  C,  D,  and  F)  in  hke  man- 
ner contained  no  stone  coffins  or  human  bones,  but  appeared  to 
have  been  used  for  similar  purposes  as  the  large  oblong  mound;  the 
interior  giving  evidence  of  having  been  burned  with  very  hot  fires, 
the  red  burnt  stratum  resembling  bricks  in  hardness,  so  that  it 
was  possible  to  dig  out  with  a  pick-ax  compact  pieces  of  it  a  foot 
thick. 

"  The  burial  mounds  were  four  in  number  and  smaller  in 
size,  and  lay  between  this  outer  chain  of  sacrificial  mounds  and 
the  river." 

The  main  tumulus  contained  nothing  of  interest,  excepting  the 
burnt  clay  hearth,  with  ashes  and  charcoal,  near  the  natural  surface, 
doubtless  the  remains  of  the  ceremonies  or  sacrifices  incident  to  its 
erection.     From  other  sources  and  recent  investigations,  we  learned 


38  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

that  these  large  and  generally  central  mounds  were  probably  raised 
foundations,  upon  wbieli  were  erected  the  bouses  of  tbe  cbief  and 
his  family  or  retainers,  or  perhaps  the  council-houses  of  the  tribes. 
From  their  commanding  position,  they  were  doubtless  also  used  for 
observation  and  for  directing  forces  in  case  of  an  attack. 

The  elevations  next  in  size  (B,  C,  D,  and  F),  averaging  about 
two  feet  high,  were  oblong,  and  from  thirty-three  to  sixty- six  feet 
in  diameter.  They  contained  no  burial  remains.  Recent  mound 
explorations  disclose  the  fact  that  the  hard  burned  clay  found  must 
have  formed  the  ancient  walls  and  fire-places,  or  the  hearths,  of 
large  family  or  communal  dwellings,  and  that  these  low  mounds  are 
simply  the  debris  or  remains  of  these  large  houses. 

From  burial  mounds  H  and  I,  Dr.  Jones  obtained  a  number  of 
remarkable  relics.  In  the  center  of  mound  H,  was  a  carefully  con- 
structed stone  grave,  octagonal  in  form.  It  contained  a  skeleton, 
which  appeared  to  have  been  buried  in  a  sitting  posture.*  On  the 
right  side,  and  within  the  very  bones  of  the  hand,  was  found  a  re- 
markable flint  knife  or  sword  blade,  the  fingers  resting  around  the 
tapering  end  or  handle.  This  beautiful  implement  ^vas  twenty-two 
inches  long,  and  about  two  inches  in  width  at  the  broadest  portion. 
It  is  probably  the  longest  and  finest  chipped  stone  knife  known  to 
archaeology.  An  illustration  of  it  will  be  found  in  the  chapter  upon 
chipped  flint  implements. 

An  earthenware  vessel,  seven  inches  high,  was  found  on  the 
left  side,  as  if  held  in  the  hand,  and  two  large  sea  shells  lay  on  the 
right.  Around  this  central  octagonal  grave  were  nine  other  stone 
graves,  a  form  of  burial  frequently  observed  in  Middle  Tennessee. 
In  one  of  them,  four  small,  thin  copper  ^^lates  were  found,  stamped 

*  Bandalier  reports  that,  in  exploring  the  ruins  of  the  pueblos  in  the  valley  of 
the  Pecos,  he  found  that  the  ancient  Pueblo  Indians  buried  their  dead  in  stone 
graves,  and  in  a  sitting  position. — Papers  Archaeological  Institute  of  America,  No.  1, 
page  98.  The  practice  of  burying  some  of  their  dead  in  a  sitting  posture  was  com- 
mon among  the  mound  building  tribes,  and  also  among  several  tribes  of  modern 
Indians. 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS. 


39 


with  rude  crosses.     They  had  probably  been  used  as  pendants  or 
ornaments.* 

Unique  images,  and  many  fine  specimens  of  painted  pottery 
and  of  shell-work,  were  found  in  these  graves.  Dr.  Jones  was  of 
opinion,  from  the  location  of  burial  mounds  H  and  I  nearest  the 
laro-e  mound,  from  the  care  exhibited  in  the  burial,  and  from  the 
fine  quality  of  the  relics  found  there,  that  these  graves  contained 
the  remains  of  some  persons  or  family  of  high  rank  in  this  ancient 
tribe  of  villagers. 

~  "UUUul. 


Scale  3SOJ'i.ioiTwh 


Fig.  5.— Plan  of  Works,  Mounds,  and  Graves  at  Old  Town,  Williamson  County, 

TENNESSEE.t 

The  greater  number  of  graves  found  in  the  adjacent  fields  and 
without  the  lines  of  defenses,  seemed  to  indicate  that  the  fort  may 
have  been  used  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  neighboring  population 
in  times  of  danger,  rather  than  as  a  place  of  permanent  residence. 

There  is  also  an  ancient  fort  at  Old  Town,  on  the  Big  Harpeth 
river,  about  six  miles  south-west  of  Franklin,  Tennessee. 

The  works  extend  from  the  steep  blufi"of  the  river  in  a  crescent 
form  two  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy  feet  in  length,  and  in- 
close twelve  acres.  They  have  been  partly  worn  down  by  cultivation, 
but  old  residents  state  that  thirty  years  ago  the  embankments  were 


■■•■  See  illustration  of  these  plates  in  the  chapter  upon  objects  of  copper,  No.  9. 
t  From  Aboriginal  Remains  of  Tennessee  (Jones),  page  82. 


40  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

SO  steep  that  it  was  impossible  to  ride  across  them.  A  fine  stream 
issues  from  the  river's  bank,  witliin  the  lines.  Two  pyramidal 
mounds  and  a  small  burial  mound  are  situated  in  the  south-west 
corner  of  the  works.  The  largest  (A)  is  one  hundred  and  twelve 
feet  in  its  long  diameter,  sixty-five  feet  in  its  short  diameter,  and. 
eleven  feet  high ;  the  next  in  size  (B)  is  seventy  by  sixty  feet  at  the 
base,  and  nine  feet  high ;  and  the  small  burial  mound  is  thirty  by 
twenty  feet  in  diameter,  and  two  and  five-tenths  feet  in  height.  A 
large  aboriginal  population  occupied  the  surrounding  country. 

SarkiLMoancL  —  ^^ 


JPp-amidal  JUiZ . 

^%  TAsres 

^%  Secilo   W5  j^.i:o  inck 

% 

Spring  — 


Fig.  6. — Plan  of  the  Works  and  Mounds  on  West  Harpeth  River.* 

A  circular  fort  or  inclosure,  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
seventy  feet  in  circumference,  containing  about  seven  acres,  may 
also  be  seen  on  the  north  bank  of  the  West  Harpeth  river,  about 
three  miles  distant  from  the  works  at  Old  Town.     (Fig.  6.) 

The  embankments  and  mounds  are  covered  with  large  forest 
trees.  Dr.  Jones  found  an  old  oak  stump  within  the  inclosure, 
which  showed  some  three  hundred  rings  of  growth. f 

The  main   pyramidal  mound  is  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  in 

*  From  Aboriginal  Remains  (Jones),  page  79. 

t  This  ancient  tree  may  have  been  growing  within  the  inclosure  when  occupied 
by  its  aboriginal  builders. 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS. 


41 


diameter  at  the  base,  and  thirty -five  feet  at  the  summit.     Its  mean 
height  is  but  nine  feet. 

Dr.  Jones  also  reports  that:  "  Fortifications  several  miles  in  ex- 
tent, inclosing  two  systems  of  mounds  and  numerous  stone  graves, 
lie  along  the  Big  Harpeth  river,  about  sixteen  miles  below  Old 
Town,  at  Mound  Bottom  and  Osborne's  Place.  Within  these  ex- 
traordinary aboriginal  works,  which  inclose  the  sites  of  two  ancient 


^'^ch  Go  ft  n,     , 

^'"^       Bone 


Corilenls,54  A.3R.I3P. 


Fig.  7. — Plan  of  Stone  Fort  near  Manchester,  Tennessee.* 

cities,  are  found  three  pyramidal  mounds,  about  fifty  feet  in  eleva- 
tion, and  each  one  exposing  about  one  acre  on  its  summit;  and  be- 
sides these  are  lesser  mounds.  The  old  road  or  trail  which  con- 
nected these  ancient  towns  can  still  be  recognized  in  the  forest,  the 
well-worn  and  compact  path  being  in  some  places  a  foot  or  more 
lower  than  the  general  surface  of  the  surrounding  soil."  f 


*  From  plan  in  Abori'^'inal  Remains  (Jones),  page  100. 
t  Aboriginal  Remains  (.Jones^,  paga  3(). 


%. 
% 


42  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

The  largest  and  most  elaborate  ancient  fortification  of  Middle 
Tennessee  is  known  as  the  "  Stone  Fort,"  and  is  situated  in  the 
forks  of  Duck  river,  near  Manchester,  in  Coffee  county.  The  main 
wall,  now  varying  from  four  to  six  feet  high,  is  partly  constructed 
of  irregular,  loose  stone  from  the  river  bed  or  the  adjoining  bhifis. 
There  is  no  regular  wall  or  masonry,  but  the  rocks  and  earth  are 
heaped  together  promiscuously,  forming  a  strong  embankment, 
connecting  with  the  precipitous  river  bluffs.     (Fig.  7,  page  41.) 

A  wide,  deep  ditch  in  the  rear  of  the  w^orks  separates  and  pro- 
tects them  from  the  commanding  ridge  opposite.  The  entrance  at 
the  north  end  exhibits  considerable  engineering  skill,  and  is  similar 
in  plan  to  some  of  the  fortified  gateways  of  the  strongest  ancient 
works  in  Ohio.  Mounds  of  stone  about  three  feet 
higher  than  the  general  wall,  doubtless  founda- 
fc  tions  for  towers  or  extra  defenses,  were  erected  on 

CD 

f^  each  side  of  the  entrance.     On  the  inside,  double 

^        protecting  w^alls  extend  back  from  the  opening,  as 

m^^^'-;^^  shown  in  the  small  plan  (Fig.  8),  terminating  at 

f  both  ends  in  raised  mounds  of  the  same  character, 

I  opposite  the  main  entrance  and  the  rear  opening, 

the  latter  being  concealed  at  the  side.     The  enemy 

Fig.  8.— Plan  of      once  within  the  main  gateway,  would  find  him- 

Enteance.  "  "^ 

self  in  cul  de  sac  in  this  interior  inclosure. 

Explorations  made  within  this  ancient  fortress  h^ve  revealed 
no  stone  graves  or  other  remains  of  interest,  or  connecting  it 
with  aboriginal  life  in  other  fortified  works.  The  Stone  Fort  was 
probably  a  military  or  defensive  inclosure,  not  used  as  a  permanent 
settlement. 

There  is  a  large  mound,  elliptical  in  form,  thirty  feet  high,  and 
six  hundred  feet  in  circumference,  about  a  half-mile  from  the  main 
entrance  of  this  fort.  It  is  constructed  of  earth  and  loose  stone, 
but  partial  excavations  have  brought  to  light  nothing  of  special  in- 
terest regarding  it. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  Tennessee  river,  on  the  high  ground  ad- 
joining  the   town    of    Savannah,    Tennessee,   there    are    extensive 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS. 


43 


earth-works,  inclosing  a  group  of  mounds,  some  sixteen  in  number. 
They  are  of  very  great  archa?ological  interest.  The  largest  mound 
is  thirty  feet  high,  over  one  hundred  yards  in  diameter,  and  has  a 
level  area  or  platform  on  top.  It  occupies  a  central,  commanding 
position,  and  probably  overlooked  nearly  the  entire  line  of  works. 
The  other  mounds  of  the  group  ranged  from  twelve  feet  in  height 
down  to  small  elevations.  The  main  lines  of  works  measure, 
"  north  and  south,"  one  thousand  three  hundred    and  fifty  yards. 


Fig.  U. — Plan  of  the  Earth-works  at  Savannah,  Tennessee. 


and  are  distinctly  traceable.  At  intervals  of  eighty  yards  along  the 
works,  the  remains  of  redoubts  are  found,  extending  to  the  front 
about  twenty  yards,  and  at  tlie  main  angles,  thirty  yards.  In  front 
of  the  main  line  about  fifty-five  yards,  and  parallel  to  it,  there  is  a 
second  and  less  elevated  line,  probably  the  remains  of  an  advanced 
line  of  stockades,  now  partly  obliterated,  but  still  traceable.  The 
redoubts  of  the  outer  lines  projected  about  forty  feet  in  front  of  it, 
and  alternated  with  those  of  the  main  line. 

The  plan  of  these  works,  from  the  Smithsonian  Report  of  1870, 


44  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

(page  408),  \vill  give  a  more  correct  idea  of  its  construction  than 
the  description. 

Extensive  excavations  were  made  in  these  mounds,  in  1870,  by 
J.  Parish  Stelle,  and  from  his  valuable  report  made  to  that  institu- 
tion, we  have  obtained  the  information  relating  to  it. 

He  "  sunk  an  eight-feet  shaft  in  the  center  of  the  large  mound, 
down  to  the  solid  earth,"  and  made  a  number  of  excavations  in 
various  parts  of  it,  but  discovered  nothing  of  interest,  excepting 
near  the  surface,  the  remains  of  a  level  burned  clay  or  "tile"  floor, 
in  the  form  of  "  a  crescent,"  about  sixteen  feet  wide  and  forty-four 
feet  long.  It  "  seems  to  have  been  made  by  spreading  tempered 
clay  smoothly  upon  a  leveled  space  of  earth,  and  then  hardening  it 
by  means  of  fire  built  on  the  top  of  it.  There  are  no  seams  to  indi- 
cate that  it  was  made  otherwise  and  laid  in  sections." 

Mr.  Stelle's  experience  in  excavating  this  large  mound  does 
not  differ  materially  from  that  of  other  explorers.  The  large 
central  mounds  of  these  southern  groups  of  earth-works  usually 
yield  little  treasure  or  information  of  importance,  excepting  burned 
clay  hearths,  ashes,  and  charred  bones.  They  are  the  mounds  for 
the  chief's  residence  or  for  the  council-house,  or  mounds  of  obser- 
vation and  for  giving  commands. 

The  burned  clay  surface  was  probably  carefully  prepared  for 
use  as  a  floor  in  some  important  building  or  residence.  A  few  ves- 
sels of  pottery,  some  implements,  several  skeletons,  a  number  of 
copper  ornaments,  and  a  string  of  copper  beads  were  found  in  exca- 
vating the  smaller  mounds. 

Mr.  Stelle  discovered  in  one  small  "  double  mound "  of  the 
group,  what  appeared  to  be  the  remains  of  three  furnaces,  or  fur- 
nace flues,  built  of  clay,  about  six  feet  apart.  They  were  about  two 
feet  wide  and  eighteen  inches  high.  He  states  that,  "  over  these, 
rude  arches  had  been  thrown,  formed  of  irregular  masses  of  tem- 
pered clay,  probably  sun  dried.  Some  of  these  masses  we  took  out 
entire.  They  were  about  as  large  as  a  man  could  handle  conven- 
iently, and,  having  been  immediately  in  contact  with  the  fire,  were 
burned  very  hard. 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS.  45 

"  From  the  three  main  furnace  trenches,  went  up  a  number  of 
small  flues,  eight  or  ten  inches  in  diameter,  whose  walls  had  also 
been  formed  of  tempered  clay,  and  were  now  burned  very  hard. 
At  some  points,  they  rose  directly  toward  the  surface  of  the  mound, 
while  from  others  they  wound  and  twisted  about  through  it  in 
various  directions,  all  skillfully  planned,  with  a  view  to  conveying 
the  heat  to  all  parts  of  the  pile. 

"Running  through  the  mound  horizontally,  at  difierent  eleva- 
tions, were  large  logs,  still  retaining  their  entire  shape,  but  com- 
pletely charred.  'We  traced  one  from  end  to  end,  eighteen  inches 
in  diameter  and  twenty-two  feet  long.'  The  ends  had  been  burned 
oiF  by  fire.  There  were  also  a  number  of  upright  charred  wooden 
posts,  which  appeared  to  have  been  used  to  support  or  give 
strength  to  the  furnaces.  There  were  no  indications  of  the  use  of 
the  ax  or  other  means  of  cutting  the  timbers  than  by  fire.  The 
whole  earth  about  the  furnaces  showed  evidences  of  having  been 
heated  and  baked. 

"There  were  no  fragments  of  pottery,  or  dross,  or  cinders,  or 
any  thing  else,  upon  which  a  hypothesis  could  be  based  touching 
the  object  for  which  the  mound  had  been  used.  Ashes  in  the  fur- 
naces, bones,  burned  earth,  and  charred  timbers,  as  already  men- 
tioned, were  the  only  things  found,  after  a  most  careful  and  exhaust- 
ive examination." 

The  only  bones  found  in  the  furnace  mound  were  two  small 
piles  of  human  bones  dug  up  near  the  furnace  flues. 

No  satisfactory  explanation  as  to  the  remarkable  features  of 
this  furnace  mound  has  been  offered,  so  far  as  we  are  informed. 
We  have  endeavored  to  present  the  main  facts  relating  to  it.  The 
interested  reader  is  referred  to  the  original  account  in  the  Smith- 
sonian Report  for  further  particulars.* 

*  The  Force  pamphlet,  on  Prehistoric  Man,  Darwinism,  and  the  Mound  Builders, 
published  by  Eobert  Clarke  &  Co.,  1873  (page  81),  states  that  "it  is  not  easy  to  be- 
lieve that  the  intrenchments  and  charcoal  mound  were  not  made  by  Europeans." 
He  thinks  they  might  have  been  the  work  of  De  Soto  and  his  men,  who  went  into 
winter  quarters  in  that  general  section  after  the  battle  of  Chicaca.  (Savannah  is 
north  of  the  route  usually  attributed  to  De  Soto.) 


46  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

A  number  of  ancient  pottery  ovens  or  kilns  have  been  found 
within  the  mound  districts,  of  simpler  character  and  smaller.  We 
have  discovered  the  remains  of  two  small  kilns  in  the  vicinity  of 
Nashville. 

Squier  and  Davis  report  the  discovery  of  pottery  kilns  in 
Panola  county,  Mississippi,  "  in  which  were  masses  of  vitriiied  mat- 
ter, frequently  in  the  form  of  rude  bricks,  measuring  twelve  inches 
in  length  by  ten  in  breadth'.'* 

In  Maury  county,  twenty-one  miles  south-west  of  Franklin, 
there  is  a  large  tumulus,  known  as  the  "  Parish  Mound,"  situated  in 
the  bend  of  Rutherford  creek,  near  Duck  river,  a  position  most 
favorable  for  defense.  Dr.  Jones  states  that  it  is  a  beautiful  square 
mound,  twenty-iive  feet  in  height,  six  hundred  and  nine  in  circum- 
ference, and  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  in  diameter  on  the  summit. 
There  are  two  smaller  mounds  not  far  distant,  but  no  traces  of  fortifi- 
cations or  stone  graves  are  now  visible.  There  is  an  ancient  mound 
on  the  high  bluff  at  the  intersection  of  Piney  and  Duck  rivers,  near 
Centerville,  Tennessee.  It  is  said  to  have  an  altitude  of  about 
thirty-five  feet.  A  line  of  breast-works,  now  about  seven  feet  high, 
runs  across  the  angle  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers,  in- 
closing the  mound.  It  was  a  fine  position  for  defense.  There  is 
also  a  group  of  mounds  on  Duck  river,  at  Indian  Ridge,  in  Hum- 
phrey county,  Tennessee.  One  of  them  is  said  to  be  forty-seven 
feet  high,  another  twenty  feet,  and  a  third  fifteen  feet  high.  At 
Hurricane  Rock,  on  Duck  river,  near  its  mouth,  there  are  two 
mounds;  and  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Tennessee  river,  near  John- 
sonville,  Tennessee,  there  is  a  group  of  mounds. 

There  is  a  very  extensive  system  of  mounds  in  Madison  county, 
in  the  western  district.  Mr.  John  G.  Cisco,  of  Jackson,  informs  us 
that  Mt.  Pinson,  the  largest  of  the  group,  is  about  seventy-two  feet 
high,  and  one  thousand  feet  in  circumference  at  its  base.  A  pen- 
tagonal mound,  with  an  altitude  of  about  thirty-eight  feet,  lies 
about  a  half-mile  west  of  Mt.  Pinson. 

*  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  pag3  195 ;  Smithsonian  Contri- 
butions, Vol.  I. 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS.  47 

There  are  also  several  mounds  in  Sequatehee  valley,  and 
mounds  and  defensive  earth-works  upon  Caney  fork  of  the  Cumber- 
land river,  and  in  Smith  county,  Tennessee. 

Three  ancient  stone  barrows,  conical  in  form,  were  found  by 
the  early  settlers  standing*  on  a  high  bluff  on  Buffalo  river,  near  the 
north  border  of  Lawrence  county,  but  time  and  the  relic  hunters 
have  nearly  destroyed  them.* 

It  seems  there  were  "  cliff  dwellers,"  or  rock  shelf  houses,  in  an- 
cient Tennessee.  About  eight  miles  from  Jamestown,  in  Fentress 
county,  upon  the  lands  of  Mr.  Ben.  R.  Stockton,  and  in  the  midst  of 
an  apparently  primeval  forest,  there  is  a  projecting  ledge  of  rocks, 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  long,  the  overhanging  stone  cover 
being  about  thirty  feet  wide,  and  varying  in  height  above  the  floor 
or  surface  of  the  ground  from  ten  to  twenty-five  feet,  forming  a  nat- 
ural roof  or  shelter.  At  some  period  in  the  past,  these  sheltering 
rocks  have  been  utilized  as  a  fortress  or  a  communal  dwelling,  as 
the  entire  floor  beneath  is  a  bed  of  ashes,  averaging  about  five  feet 
deep,  and  extending  a  considerable  distance  beyond  the  rock  wall 
line.  Mr.  Stockton,  the  owner,  states  that  he  has  hauled  from 
three  hundred  to  four  hundred  wagon  loads  of  ashes  from  the 
"  Rock-house,"  to  use  in  fertilizing  his  farm,  and  that  there  are 
probably  from  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand  more  loads,  and  that 
nearly  as  much  more  had  been  washed  down  the  hill.  Thousands 
of  trees  must  have  been  burned  in  creating  this  immense  ash  bed, 
yet  the  surrounding  forests  show  no  evidences  of  their  removal, 
indicating  that  centuries  must  have  elapsed  since  this  ancient  house 
or  fort  was  inhabited. 

There  is  a  running  stream  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  about  two 
hundred  yards  from  the  Rock-house. 

In  excavating  the  ashes,  two  skeletons  have  been   discovered, 

*  Dr.  T.  S.  Evans  and  John  M.  Bass,  Esq.,  recording  secretary  of  the  Tennessee 
Historical  Society,  visited  these  remains  some  years  since.  They  discovered  evi- 
dences of  fire  and  of  a  duct,  flue,  or  opening  leading  from  the  base  of  the  stone 
mounds,  but  no  relics  of  interest,  and  they  reached  no  satisfactory  conclusions  as  to 
the  purpose  ior  whicli  they  were  erected. 


48  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

partly  surrounded  by  stone  slabs,  and  indicating  that  the  remains 
were  buried  in  a  sitting  posture.  Earthenware  vessels  of  well- 
burned  clay  and  crushed  shells,  and  other  relics  have  been  found, 
showing  that  this  natural  castle  had  probably  been  occupied  by 
the  people  of  the  Stone  Grave  race. 

It  must  have  been  inhabited  for  a  long  time,  and  by  a  consid- 
erable force  or  flimily,  as  the  ash  bed  approximates  in  size  some  of 
the  prehistoric  shell  heaps  along  the  sea  shore.  Doubtless  walls  or 
pickets  made  it  a  strong  and  comfortable  fortress  home  during  some 
long  period  of  warfare  or  danger.  Mr.  Stockton  informs  us  that 
there  are  a  number  of  smaller  "  rock  houses  "  in  that  vicinity.* 

Having  given  a  brief  description  of  the  main  features  of  some 
of  the  ancient  tumuli,  inclosures,  and  defensive  works  in  Tennessee, 
we  pass  to  a  consideration  of  the  state  of  aboriginal  society,  as  rep- 
resented by  them.  Regarded  simply  in  the  light  of  their  physical 
characteristics,  they  do  not  necessarily  indicate  a  status  more  ad- 
vanced than  that  of  certain  tribes  of  historic  Indians.  In  fact,  it 
has  often  been  found  impossible  to  separate  the  works  of  the  mound 
building  tribes  from  more  modern  known  Indian  works,  or  to  draw 
absolute  lines  of  distinction  between  them.f 

From  the  excellent  state  of  preservation  of  many  of  the  skele- 
tons, shell,  bone,  and  horn  ornaments  and  implements,  sun-dried 
pottery,  and  articles  of  wood,  found  in  some  of  the  mounds  and 
stone  graves  of  Middle  Tennessee,  it  can  not  be  believed  that  all  of 
the  latter  antedate  the  Columbian  discovery,  the  visit  of  Pamphilo 
de  l^arvaez  in  1528,  or  of  De  Soto  in  1540.  A  greater  number  of 
skulls  in  a  good  state  of  preservation  have  probably  been  taken 
from  stone  graves  of  Middle  Tennessee  than  from  au}^  other  section 

*  Hon.  W.  A.  Henderson,*  of  Knoxville,  visited  this  interesting  rock  house  in 
Fentress  county,  and  kindly  called  our  attention  to  it. 

t  The  earth-works  of  Western  New  York,  long  regarded  as  the  unquestioned 
remains  of  an  ancient  race  of  mound  builders,  were,  after  carefui  exploration, 
declared  to  be  the  remains  of  the  stockade  forts  of  the  Iroquois  Indians,  or  their 
western  neighbors,  and  of  no  great  antiquity.— Aboriginal  Monuments  of  New  York 
(Squier),  page  83;  Smithsonian  Contributions,  Vol.  II. 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS.  49 

of  the  mound  area;  an  indication  that  the  Stone  G-rave  race  prob- 
ably belonged  to  a  late  mound  building  period.  A  considerable  por- 
tion— perhaps  one-sixth — of  the  skulls  examined  by  the  author  in 
his  archaeological  explorations,  have  been  found  to  be  in  very  good 
condition,  and  a  large  number  have  been  carefully  removed  and 
preserved.  Prof.  Putnam  and  his  assistants  obtained,  for  the 
Peabody  Museum,  a  most  valuable  collection  of  sixty-seven  skulls 
from  the  valley  of  the  Cumberland.  Frail,  sun-dried  vessels  of 
clay  are  often  found  in  the  graves,  in  the  damp  loam  and  sand 
along  the  bank  of  the  Cumberland  river,  in  a  better  state  of 
preservation  than  the  burned  ware  found  in  the  Ohio  mound  dis- 
trict. Leather  thongs,  or  strings,  not  yet  decayed,  were  found  in  a 
stone  grave  near  N^ashville,  by  Dr.  Joseph  Jones.*  Prof.  F.  W. 
Putnam  found  the  fragment  of  a  string  in  a  stone  grave  on  Fort 
Zollicoffer.f  In  both  cases,  the  copper  ornaments  to  which  they 
were  attached  aided  in  preserving  them. 

The  author  found  in  a  stone  grave  in  the  same  ancient  ceme- 
tery, on  the  bank  of  the  Cumberland,  a  small,  well-preserved, 
carved  w^ooden  wheel.  A  thin  Him  of  copper  covering  a  portion  of 
it  had  probably  partly  preserved  it.  In  an  adjoining  stone  grave 
was  found  a  small,  but  perfect,  specimen  of  pottery,  indicating  a 
contemporaneous  burial.  We  also  found  in  a  stone  grave  of  the 
Koel  cemetery,  near  IsTashville,  a  small  half-decayed  ornament  or 
piece  of  wood,  partly  covered  with  fragments  of  oxydized  copper. 

Fragments  of  wood  not  entirely  decayed  are  frequently  found 
in  the  burial  mounds  of  Tennessee,  also  charred  matting,  burned 
corn-cobs,  and  other  remains  of  perishable  materials.  These  indica- 
tions point  to  the  comparatively  modern  origin  of  at  least  some  of 
the  graves  and  tumuli  of  the  Cumberland  valley. t 

*  Aboriginal  Remains  (Jones),  page  45. 

t  Eleventh  Annual  Report  Peabody  Museum,  page  307. 

t  Dr.  Joseph  Jones  reports,  that  in  exploring  the  large  mound  near  "  Stone 
Fort,"  in  Coffee  county,  he  found  the  remains  of  a  white  man,  deposited  there  only 
about  twenty  years  prior  to  that  time — an  intrusive  burial ;  and  that  he  "  was  surprised 

4 


50  ANTIQUITIES   OF    TENNESSEE. 

Haywood,  in  lais  "Aboriginal  History  of  Tennessee,"  states  that 
in  1819,  a  white  oak  tree  growing  on  the  top  of  the  "  Stone  Fort," 
near  Manchester,  Tennessee,  was  cut  down,  and  contained  three 
hundred  and  fifty-seven  "annulars"  or  rings.*  This  ancient  land- 
mark was  therefore  but  seventy-eight  years  old  when  De  Soto 
landed  on  the  coast  of  Florida.  An  elm  tree  about  four  feet  in 
diameter  is  still  standing  on  the  earthwork  near  Lebanon.  These 
trees  indicate  a  very  considerable  age,  yet  there  are  familiar  old 
elms  at  Salem  and  in  the  suburbs  of  Boston  and  elsewhere  in  JS"ew 
England — elms  planted  since  the  advent  of  the  Europeans — that 
probably  equal  in  size  the  Lebanon  elm  or  the  largest  trees  now 
found  growing  upon  the  mounds. f 

Assured,  therefore,  that  some  of  the  mounds  and  stone  graves 
of  Tennessee  do  not  antedate  the  dawn  of  history,  we  naturally 
turn  to  the  chronicles  of  the   early  Spanish  discoverers  for  the  key 

to  find  the  bones  so  much  more  decayed  than  those  of  many  of  the  aborigines  in 
the  stone  graves." — Aboriginal  Remains  (Jones),  page  102.  Dr.  W.  C.  Blackman,  an 
intelligent  observer  and  physician,  who  resides  in  the  midst  of  the  stone  grave  cem- 
eteries south  of  Nashville,  and  has  been  present  at  a  large  number  of  grave  explor- 
ations, agrees  in  opinion  with  the  author,  that  some  of  these  stone  graves  are  prob- 
ably not  more  than  three  hundred  or  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  old,  and  may  be 
of  considerably  later  date.  They  can  not  be  less  than  about  two  hundred  years  old, 
as  that  is  probably  about  the  latest  date  of  permanent  Indian  occupation.  Dr. 
Ran,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  a  noted  expert  in  archaeology,  dug  up  a  num- 
ber of  vessels  of  pottery  at  Cahokia  creek,  Illinois  — ware  of  the  same  character  and 
forms  as  some  of  the  Tennessee  and  Missouri  pottery— which  he  ascribed  to  the 
Indians,  and  stated  that  he  regarded  these  remains  as  of  comparatively  modern 
origin. 

"Only  a  hundred  years,"  says  Dr.  Ran,  "may  have  elapsed  since  they  (these 
vessels)  were  made,  yet  it  is  also  possible  that  they  are  much  older." — Smithsonian 
Report,  1866  (Ran :  Indian  Pottery),  page  349. 

Dr.  Wm.  M.  Clark  found  a  well-preserved  piece  of  string,  or  hemp  fiber,  wrap- 
ped around  a  copper  spool,  or  ornament,  in  a  stone  grave  near  Brentwood,  Tennes- 
see.— Smithsonian  Reports,  1877. 

*  Aboriginal  History  of  Tennessee,  page  170. 

t  The  centennial  of  the  elm  tree  planted  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  in  1790, 
in  memory  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  was  recently  celebrated.  It  was  found  to  be  four 
feet  in  diameter. 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS.  51 

that  shall  unlock  the  uses  and  mysteries  of  some  of  these  remains. 
The  results  fully  justify  our  expectations.  Narvaez,  who  attempted 
the  conquest  of  Florida,*  in  1528,  with  a  well-appointed  force, 
captured  and  detroyed  several  fortified  Indian  towns,  surrounded  by 
extensive  fields  of  corn,  but  was  finally  compelled  by  the  constant 
attacks  of  the  natives  to  abandon  the  enterprise.  Cabeza  de  Yaca, 
who  accompanied  him,  makes  a  statement  noticeable  in  this  con- 
nection, "that  the  natives  were  accustomed  to  erect  their  dwellings 
on  a  steep  hill,  and  around  its  base  to  dig  a  ditch  as  a  means  of 
defense. t 

The  testimony  of  De  Soto's  followers  is  more  direct  and  com- 
plete. It  has  been  three  hundred  and  forty-nine  years  since  these 
Spanish  adventurers  marched  through  Georgia,  Alabama,  Missis- 
sippi and  Arkansas,  states  bordering  upon  Tennessee.  The  antiq- 
uities of  these  southern  states  being  similar  in  their  main  features, 
De  Soto's  Spanish  records  contain  historic  evidence  of  great  im- 
portance. 

The  meager  accounts  of  Biedma,  the  more  extended  statement 
of  "  the  gentlemen  of  Elvas,"  a  Portugese  soldier  of  much  intelli- 
gence, and  the  romantic  narrative  of  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  con- 
sidered together,  are  entirely  in  harmony  with  antiquarian  research, 
and  aiFord  information  unattainable  elsewhere,  as  to  the  character 
of  the  towns,  villages,  houses,  and  of  the  interesting  domestic -life 
of  the  tribes  in  the  territory  through  which  De. Soto's  army  passed. 

Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  in  his  history,  says :  "  The  town  and 
house  of  the  Cacique  (or  chief)  of  Osachile  are  similar  to  those  of  all 
other  caciques  in  Florida,  and,  therefore,  it  seems  best  to  give  one 
description  that  will  apply  generally  to  all  the  capitals,  and  all  the 
houses  of  the  chiefs  in  Florida.  I  say,  then,  that  the  Indians 
endeavored  to  place  their  towns  upon  elevated  places,  but  because 
such  situations  are  rare  in  Forida,  or  that  they  find  a  difficulty  in 
procuring  suitable  material  for  building,  they   raise   eminences  in 

■■■■  Florida,  at  that  time,  included  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Tennessee. 
t  Brinton  :  Nationality  of  Mound  Builders. 


52  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

this  manner.  They  choose  a  place  to  which  they  bring  a  quantity 
of  earth  which  they  elevate  into  a  kind  of  platform,  two  or  three 
pikes  in  height  (from  eighteen  to  twenty-five  feet),  of  which  the  flat 
top  is  capable  of  holding  ten  or  twelve,  fifteen  or  twenty  houses  to 
lodge  the  cacique,  his  family,  and  suite."  * 

Biedma  also  states,  in  speaking  of  the  same  province:  "The 
caciques  of  this  country  make  a  custom  of  raising  near  their 
dwellings  very  high  hills,  on  which  they  sometimes  build  their 
huts."  "  We  journeyed  two  days,  and  reached  a  village  in  the 
midst  of  a  plain,  surrounded  by  a  wall  and  a  ditch  filled  with  water, 
which  had  been  made  by  the  Indians."  f 

The  principal  towns  of  the  natives  were  found  by  De  Soto  to 
be  well  fortified,  and  are  described  as  "  walled  towns."  They  were 
surrounded  by  palisades  formed  by  the  trunks  of  trees,  plastered 
with  clay  and  straw,  and  surmounted  at  intervals  with  towers. 
They  had  protected  openings  or  gateways.  They  sometimes  con- 
tained a  population  of  several  thousand  inhabitants.  One  town  is 
mentioned  containing  six  hundred  houses.  Some  of  the  houses  de- 
scribed were  large  enough  to  lodge  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred 
people — great  family  or  communal  dwellings. 

The  house  of  the  cacique,  or  chief  of  the  settlement  or  tribe, 
was  often  built  upon  an  artificial  mound  or  raised  foundation  of 
earth.  The  so-called  temples,  or  altars  of  worship,  were  also  built 
upon  raised  foundations  or  mounds.     A  mound  or  temple   is  de- 

*  Archseology  of  United  States  (Haven),  page  57.  As  translated  by  Irving,  La 
Vega  says:  "The  natives  constructed  artificial  mounds  of  earth,  the  top  of  each 
beino-  capable  of  containing  from  ten  to  twenty  houses.  Here  resides  the  cacique, 
his  family  and  attendants.  At  the  foot  of  this  hill,  was  a  square  according  to  the 
size  of  the  village,  around  which  were  the  houses  of  the  leaders  and  most  distin- 
guished inhabitants.  The  rest  of  the  people  erected  their  wigwams  as  near  to  the 
dwelling  of  their  chief  as  possible."— Conquest  of  Florida  (Irving),  pages  129,  317, 

241.) 

t  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  Part  II,  page  105. 

"The  cacique's  house  stood  near  the  shore  upon  a  very  high  mount  made  by 
hand  for  strength."— Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana  (Gentlemen  of  Elvas),  Part 
II,  page  123.    Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana  (Biedma),  Part  II,  page  103. 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS.  53 

scribed  as  the  place  of  burial  of  their  dead  chieftains.*  The  com- 
mon houses  or  huts  were  built  of  poles  or  rude  timbers,  were 
plastered  with  clay  and  straw,  and  thatched  with  bark  and  cane. 
A  number  of  towns  were  environed  by  artificial  ditches  filled  with 
water.  La  Vega's  description  of  the  towns  of  Mauvila,  in  Alabama, 
may  be  of  interest :  "  This  was  the  stronghold  of  the  cacique, 
where  he  and  his  principal  men  resided,  and  being  on  the  frontiers 
of  his  territory,  it  was  strongly  fortified.  It  stood  in  a  fine  plain, 
and  was  surrounded  by  a  high  wall,  formed  of  huge  trunks  of  trees 
driven  into  the  ground  side  by  side  and  wedged  together.  These 
were  crossed  within  and  without  by  others,  smaller  and  longer, 
bound  to  them  by  bands  made  of  split  reeds  and  wild  vines.  The 
whole  v/as  thickly  plastered  over  with  a  kind  of  mortar,  made  of 
clay  and  straw  trampled  together,  which  filled  up  every  chink  and 
crevice  of  the  wood-work." 

"  Throughout  its  whole  circuit,  the  wall  was  pierced  at  the 
height  of  a  man  with  loop-holes,  whence  arrows  might  be  dis- 
charged at  an  enemy,  and  every  fifty  paces  it  was  surmounted  by  a 
tower,  capable  of  holding  seven  or  eight  fighting  men."  "  There 
were  but  two  gates  to  the  place — one  to  the  east,  the  other  to  the 
west.  In  the  center  of  the  village  was  a  large  square,  around  which 
were  erected  the  principal  dwellings."  f 

A  careful  consideration  of  these  features,  with  a  map  in  hand, 
showing  the  present  appearance  and  condition  of  any  one  of  the 
many  groups  of  ancient  earth-works  in  Middle  Tennessee — a  group 
on  the  Ilarpeth  river,  or  the  works  near  Lebanon,  Tennesse,  or  in 
Sumner  county — will  readily  indicate  the  striking  similarity  of 
these  remains  to  the  ancient  fortified  towns  described,  and,  indeed, 
will  be  conclusive  of  the  fact  that  some  of  these  earth-works  are 
simply  the  remains  of  towns  or  villages,  similar  to  those  through 

■•■■  Conquest  of  Florida  (Irving),  page  231. 

t  Conquest  of  Florida  (Irving),  pages  261,  262.  See  also  Gentlemen  of  Elvas, 
for  description  of  fortified  towns. — Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  Part  II,  pages 
157,  158,  173.     Also  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana  (Biedma),  Part  II,  page  103. 


54  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

which  De  Soto  and  his  army  passed  in  1540-41,  and  then  found 
active  witli  busy  life. 

The  long  lines  of  earth  that  outlined  the  old  walls,  with  their 
well-selected  openings  and  projections,  the  ditches,  the  raised  foun- 
dation mound,  or  pyramid  of  the  chief's  house — perhaps  the  mound 
that  supported  the  rude  temple  or  altar  of  worship — the  rows  of 
graves  or  burial  mounds  of  the  ancient  cemetery,  will  still  be  found. 
Sometimes,  the  outlines  of  the  low  circular  floors  upon  which  the 
common  houses  or  wigwams  were  placed  may  be  seen,  as  in  the 
Lebanon  and  Sumner  county  groups. 

It  requires  little  eifort  of  the  imagination  to  picture  ancient  life 
in  one  of  these  settlements  in  Tennessee ;  to  crown  the  long,  low 
lines  of  earth  again  with  their  strong  palisades  ;  to  place  the  rude 
house  of  the  chief  upon  its  high  pyramid  overlooking  the  village 
and  the  far  country;  to  repeople  the  council-house,  the  family 
dwellings,  humble  and  spacious,  hives  of  busy  life ;  to  replace  the 
altar  of  the  sun  worshipers  in  its  rude  temple  ;  to  see  the  near-by 
burial  mounds  consecrated  by  the  bones  of  their  heroes ;  the  gay 
colors  of  the  warriors,  the  trappings  of  the  hunters,  the  toiling  of 
the  women,  the  basket  and  cloth  makers,  the  throng  of  the  half- 
naked  children  and  yelping  dogs  ;  the  medicine  man,  with  bis  herbs 
and  kettles;  the  dealer  in  implements  and  vessels  of  stone,  clay, 
and  shell ;  the  trader,  perhaps  from,  a  far  country,  with  his  wares 
and  strings  of  shells ;  the  pottery  makers,  the  pipe  makers,  the  flint 
chipper  and  arrow  makers,  the  fisherman — all  necessary  features 
of  ancient  town  and  village  life  in  the  South,  as  described  by  early 
writers  in  their  accounts  of  the  southern  Indians. 

Now,  picture  this  town  swept  by  the  desolation  of  war  or  rudely 
pillaged  by  the  marauding  soldiery  of  De  Soto ;  picture  it  after  the 
lapse  of  three  or  four  centuries  !  Fire  and  decay  have  consumed 
its  strong  palisades,  its  great  houses,  and  all  that  was  left  of  wood. 
The  raised  foundations  and  pyramids  of  earth,  with  their  steep 
sides,  may  have  become  common-place  hillocks.  The  dense  forest 
has  again  spread  over  the  scene.  Giant  trees  are  covering  its 
graves    and    ditches.     Time,    and   probably   the   plowshare   of   the 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS.  55 

pioneer,  have  almost  obliterated  the  earth  lines  of  the  crumbled 
wall. 

You  may  thus  have  the  true  story  of  ancient  life  in  Tennessee, 
and  of  many  of  the  monuments  and  remains  of  the  Stone  Grave 
race 

The  young  oaks  that  sprung  up  on  the  mounds  that  De  Soto 
left  desolate  and  unoccupied,  in  1541,  would  now  be  three  hundred 
and  forty-nine  years  old — old  enough,  indeed,  to  be  lords  of  the  for- 
est. Most  of  the  earth-works  in  Tennessee  and  the  Mississippi  val- 
ley doubtless  date  from  a  period  anterior  to  that  time,  some  of  them 
probably  many  centuries  anterior.  The  testimony  of  his  followers 
is  given,  however,  to  show  their  objects  and  uses,  and  to  solve  some 
of  the  apparent  mysteries  of  their  construction.  Although  De  Soto 
did  not  visit  the  territory  of  the  Stone  Grave  race  m  Middle 
Tennessee,  his  expedition  penetrated  into  ISorth-east  Arkansas, 
where  their  near  kindred,  the  pottery  makers  of  that  district,  resided, 
tribes  most  intimately  related  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Cumberland 
valley,  as  indicated  by  many  identities  and  analogies.  De  Soto 
found  there,  as  his  chroniclers  state,  "walled  towns  within  a 
league  or  a  league  and  a  half  of  each  other."  This  was  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Capahas,  where  Fathers  Douay  and  Charlevoix  found 
them  in  1687  and  1721.  The  Peabody  Museum  of  Archfeology, 
some  years  ago,  conducted  a  series  of  explorations  in  iSTorth-eastern 
Arkansas,  under  Mr.  Edwin  Curtis,  who  reported  that  he  found  the 
mounds  there  "were  usually  surrounded  by  earth-works  and  ditches, 
forming  iiiclosures  of  from  three  to  eighteen  or  twenty  acres."  * 
These  remains  in  Arkansas  are  very  similar  in  character  to  the  an- 
cient fortified  villages  of  Tennessee. 

We  learn  from  Dumont's  Memoirs,  that  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Yazoo  river,  in  Mississippi,  were  the  villages  of  the  Oftbgoulas  and 
other  southern  Indians  built  upon  mounds  artificially  made.f 

Dumont  also  says  the  cabin  of  the  chief  of  the  Natchez  Indians 

*  Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of  Peabody  Museum,  page  19 ;  Mounds  of  jNIissis- 
Bippi  Valley  (Carr),  page  105. 

t  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  Part  V,  page  43. 


56  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


j» 


"was  on  an  elevated  mound."  La  Petit,  a  missionary  among  the 
Natchez  Indians,  mentions  that  "the  residence  of  the  great  chief,  or 
'brother  of  the  sun,'  as  he  was  called,  was  erected  upon  a  mound  of 
earth  carried  for  that  purpose."  Du  Pratz,  the  early  historian  of 
Louisiana,  states  that  the  house  of  the  Great  Sun  of  the  l^atchez 
stood  upon  a  mound  "  about  eight  feet  high,  and  twenty  feet  over 
on  the  surface,"  and  that  the  temple  of  the  priest  was  on  a  mound 
about  the  same  height.* 

It  is  a  matter  of  comparatively  recent  history,  that  when  the 
French  and  Choctaws  defeated  the  Katchez  Indians,  in  Mississippi, 
in  1730,  the  latter  established  themselves  upon  the  Black  river, 
where  they  erected  mounds  and  embankments  for  defense.  These 
defenses  covered  an  area  of  four  hundred  acres,  and  could  still  be 
seen  as  late  as  1851. f  The  pyramids  of  earth  raised  by  the  Choc- 
taws over  their  dead  when  collected  together,  as  described  by  Ber- 
tram, who  traveled  among  these  Indians,  in  1777,  are  in  the  form  of 
some  of  our  southern  burial  mounds. |  The  Iroquois,  nearly  three 
centuries  ago,  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  military  defense  that 
the  armies  of  the  North  and  South  had  to  learn  during  the  late  war 
by  costly  experience. |1 

La  Salle  tells  us  they  built  a  rude  fort  of  earth  and  timbers 
every  night  they  encamped  near  the  enemy. 

Cartier  found  the  site  of  modern  ^Montreal  occupied  by  a 
strongly  fortified  Indian  town  in  1535.  On  approaching  it,  nothing 
could  be  seen  but  its  high  palisades.  They  were  made  of  the 
trunks  of  trees  set  in  triple  rows.  Transverse  braces  formed  galler- 
ies between  them  to  assist  the  defenders.     Lewis  and  Clark  describe 

*  Brinton :  Nationality  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

t  Pickett's  Alabama,  Vol.  I.  page  166. 

i  Bertram's  Travels,  pages  51-4,  515. 

li  Their  forts  are  often  counterparts  of  our  fortified  works  in  Tennessee.  One  of 
these  stockade  forts  of  the  Iroquois  is  minutely  described  by  Champlain,  who 
attacked  it  in  1610.  A  familiar  print  ol  this  remarkable  structure  is  given  in  the 
Documentary  History  of  New  York,  Vol.  Ill,  page  15.  The  lines  of  stockades,  the 
ditches,  the  great  house  inside,  all  recall  some  of  the  descriptions  in  the  chronicles 
of  De  Soto,  and  show  a  marked  similarity  to  our  Tennessee  remains. 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS. 


57 


the  forts  built  by  the  Mandans  and  other  Indians  of  the  North- 
west in  1805,  with  raised  stockades,  ditches,  and  fortified  gateways. 
Captain  John  Smith,  the  founder  and  historian  of  the  first  Virginia 
colony,  writes  that  the  Indians  of  Virginia  had  "  palizadoed  towns." 
Bienville,  of  Louisiana,  in  1735,  attacked  a  Chickasaw  village  pro- 
tected by  a  strong  fort.  He  was  repulsed,  with  heavy  loss.  The 
palisade  wall  was  six  feet  thick,  arranged  with  loop-holes,  covered 
with  heavy  timbers.*  , 


4'W 


#^ 


□  □  n  a 


Fig.  10. — Plan  of  Battle  of  the  Horseshoe. 


The  plan  of  the  "Battle  of  the  Horseshoe,"  where  the  Creeks, 
protected  by  breast-works,  fought  General  Andrew  Jackson  in  1814, 
indicates  that  these  Indians  possessed  considerable  knowledge  of 
military  defensive  Avorks.  The  original  sketch  drawn  by  the  gen- 
eral, is  appended  to  his  interesting  report  of  the  battle,  made  to 
Governor  Blount  of  Tennessee. f 

*  Historical  Memoirs  of  Louisiana,  Part  V,  page  110. 

t  Traced  by  the  writer  from  the  original  report  in  the  possession  of  the  Tennes- 
see Historical  Society  at  Nashville. 


58  ATsTTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

General  Jackson  states,  in  his  report,  that  "  Nature  furnishes 
few  situations  so  ehgible  for  defense,  and  barbarians  never  rendered 
one  more  secure  by  art.  Across  the  neck  of  land  which  leads  into 
it  from  the  north,  they  had  erected  a  breast-work  of  great  compact- 
ness and  strength,  from  five  to  eight  feet  high,  and  prepared  with 
double  rows  of  port-holes  very  artfully  arranged.  The  figure  of 
this  wall  manifested  no  less  skill  in  the  projectors  of  it  than  its  con- 
struction. An  army  could  not  approach  it  without  being  opposed 
to  a  double  and  cross  fire  from  the  enemy,  who  lay  in  security 
behind  it."  Surely  no  prehistoric  defensive  work  could  receive  a 
higher  compliment  from  higher" militar}^  authority! 

We  have,  moreover,  direct  testimony  that  some  of  these 
mounds,  long  regarded  as  the  exclusive  work  of  an  ancient  and 
more  civilized  race,  have  been  built  by  modern  Indians  since  the 
period  of  European  discovery.  There  are  a  number  of  instances, 
well  authenticated,  where  articles,  certainly  of  modern  European 
manufacture  and  origin,  have  been  found  in  mounds,  undistinguish- 
able  in  general  character  from  more  ancient  mounds,  and  under  cir- 
cumstances affording  no  presumption  of  a  possible  intrusive  burial. 

Colonel  C.  C.  Jones,  in  his  Antiquities  of  the  Southern  In- 
dians,* reports  at  least  one  absolutely  certain  instance  where  "a 
portion  of  a  rusty,  old-fashioned  sword,"  evidently  of  European 
manufacture,  was  found  in  a  mound  with  decayed  bones  of  a  skele- 
ton alongside  of  pottery,  and  a  stone  celt.  Atwater,  a  well-known 
archfeologist,  tells  us  of  his  discovery,  in  an  Ohio  mound,  of  articles 
of  silver  and  iron  of  modern  European  origin.  Prof.  F.  W.  Put- 
nam, in  the  fourteenth  annual  publication  of  the  Peabody  Museum, 
reports  the  discovery,  by  Dr.  Mack,  in  Florida,  of  glass  beads  and 
ornaments  of  silver,  brass,  and  iron,  deeply  imbedded  and  associ- 
ated with  pottery  and  stone  implements  of  native  manufacture,  all 
found  in  a  burial  mound,  and  furnishing  conclusive  evidence  that 
the  Indians  of  Florida  continued  to  build  mounds  over  their  dead 
after  contact  with  the  Europeans. 

*  Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians,  page  131. 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS.  59 

The  National  Bureau  of  Ethnology  also  reports,  in  detail,  a 
number  of  similar  discoveries  in  mound  explorations  in  Tennessee, 
North  Carolina,  Mississippi,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  Arkansas.* 

*  In  a  mound  iu  East  Tennessee,  some  six  feet  high,  and  wliicli  sliowed  no  signs 
of  disturbance,  an  old-fashioned  case  knife  was  discovered  near  the  bottom.  Far 
down  in  another  mound  (in  Tennessee)  of  large  size,  and  also  iu  comparatively  mod- 
ern Indian  graves  at  widely  different  points,  have  been  found  little  sleigh-bells, 
probably  what  were  formerly  known  as  "hawk  bells,"  made  of  copper,  with  pebble 
and  shell  bead  rattles,  and  all  of  precisely  the  same  pattern  and  finish.  "At  the 
bottom  of  a  North  Carolina  mound,  part  of  an  iron  blade  and  an  iron  awl  were  dis- 
covered in  the  hands  of  the  principal  personages  buried  therein :  with  these  were 
engraved  shells  and  polished  celts."  A  silver  plate  with  the  Spanish  coat-of-arms 
stamped  upon  it,  and  the  iron  portions  of  a  saddle,  quite  certainly  articles  that  had 
belonged  to  De  Soto's  followers,  were  found,  by  the  agents  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, in  an  ancient  mound  explored  in  Northern  Mississippi. — Work  in  Mound 
Exploration,  Bureau  of  Ethnology  (Cyrus  Thomas),  page  9. 

We  have  also  in  our  collection  a  beaded  copper  ornament,  or  harness  button, 
evidently  molded  or  made  by  machine  pressure.  It  was  recently  discovered  in  an 
artificial  "  Indian  mound "  on  Battle  creek,  in  Wayne  county,  Tennessee,  with 
ancient  remains  of  pottery  and  shell,  by  Mr.  D.  G.  Charles,  of  Florence,  Alabama. 
It  is  certainly  of  comparatively  modern  origin,  and  was  probably  a  harness  orna- 
ment, and  a  relic  of  De  Soto's  campaign.     It  is  illustrated  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

Col.  C.  C.  Jones,  writing  of  the  earth-works  of  Georgia,  wliich  approximate  in 
size  the  largest  tumuli  of  the  Ohio  valley,  states :  "  We  do  not  concur  in  the  opin- 
ion so  often  expressed,  that  the  mound  builders  were  a  race  distinct  from,  and  supe- 
rior in  art,  government,  and  religion  to,  the  southern  Indians  of  the  fifteenth  and 
sixteenth  centuries. — Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians  (Jones),  p.  135. 

Lewis  H.  ^Morgan,  a  most  original  and  learned  ethnologist,  in  an  article  upon 
the  Houses  of  the  Aborigines  of  America,  states;  "  It  will  be  assumed  that  the 
tribes  who  constructed  the  earth-works  of  the  Ohio  valley  were  Indians.  No  other 
supposition  is  tenable.  The  implements  and  utensils  found  in  the  mounds  indicate 
very  plainly  that  they  had  attained  to  the  middle  status  of  barbarism.  They  fairly 
belonged  to  the  class  of  sedentary  village  Indians,  though  not  in  all  respects  of  an 
equal  grade  of  culture  and  development." — Contributions  to  North  American  Eth- 
nology, Vol.  IV,  pages  198,  199. 

Major  J.  W.  Powell,  the  director  of  the  National  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  has  also 
given  an  opinion  to  the  same  effect.  "With  regard  to  the  mounds  so  widely  scat- 
tered between  the  two  oceans,"  he  states,  "  it  may  be  said  that  mound  building 
tribes  were  known  in  the  early  history  of  discovery  of  this  continent,  and  that  ves- 
tiges of  art  discovered  do  not  excel  in  any  respect,  the  arts  of  the  Indian  tribes 
known  to  history.     The  tracing  of  the  origin  of  these  arts  to  the  ancestors  of  known 


60  ANTIQUITIES    OE    TENNESSEE. 

It  has  thus  become  a  well-settled  fact  in  American  archeeology, 
that  some  of  the  modern  tribes  of  Indians  have  built  earth-works 
and  mounds  within  the  historic  period,  and  that  it  is  not  necessary, 
upon  the  evidence  of  the  mounds  alone,  to  attribute  these  works  to 
any  other,  or  more  civilized,  or  more  ancient  race  than  the  ancestors 
of  some  of  the  advanced  tribes  of  southern  Indians. 

The  ancient  earth-works  of  Tennessee,  and  the  states  adjacent, 
must  be  regarded  as  fairly  presenting  characteristic  types  of  the 
structures  of  the  mound  building  tribes.  The  Etowah  and  Messier 
mounds  of  Georgia,  the  mound  at  Seltzerville,  Mississippi,  and  the 
group  in  Madison  county,  Tennessee,  are  not  less,  in  average  height 
and  cubical  capacity,  than  the  large  mounds  of  the  Ohio  valley. 
The  remains  of  the  arts  and  industries  found  in  the  Tennessee 
mounds  and  graves,  also  show  a  state  of  development  as  advanced 
as  that  of  any  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  mound  area ;  in- 
deed, it  is  believed  that  the  subsequent  chapters  of  this  volume  will 
show  that  the  interesting  remains  of  the  Stone  Grave  race,  taken  as 
a  whole,  indicate  a  more  advanced  state  of  art  and  industry  in  an- 

tribes,  or  stocks  of  tribes,  is  more  legitimate." — Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Etlmology, 
Vol.  IV,  page  ix. 

"William  H.  Dall,  an  honorary  curator  of  the  National  Museum,  in  his  edition  of 
Marquis  De  Nadaillac's  Prehistoric  America,  thus  states  his  conclusions  upon  this 
subject:  "  In  closing  this  chapter,  what,  it  may  be  asked,  are  we  to  believe  was  the 
character  of  the  race  to  which,  for  the  purpose  of  clearness,  we  have,  for  the  time 
being,  applied  the  term  '  mound  builders.'  The  answer  must  be  they  were  no  more 
nor  less  than  the  immediate  predecessors,  in  blood  and  culture,  of  the  Indians  de- 
scribed by  I)e  Soto's  chroniclers,  and  other  early  explorers— the  Indians  who  inhab- 
ited the  region  of  the  mounds,  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  by  civilized  men." — Pre- 
historic America,  page  130. 

Similar  views  are  held  by  Lucien  Carr,  the  very  intelligent  assistant  curator  of 
the  Peabody  Museum,  who,  in  an  elaborate  pamphlet  upon  The  Mounds  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi Historically  Considered,  has  cited  a  number  of  authorities  in  support  of 
this  position.     (See  page  4.) 

Dr.  Gerard  Troost,  of  Nashville,  who  explored  a  number  of  mounds  and  an- 
cient cemeteries  in  ^Middle  Tennessee,  in  his  address  before  the  American  Ethnolog-v 
ical  Society  of  New  York,  made  the  somewhat  remarkable  statement  that  the  an- 
cients of  the  Stone  Grave  race  "  were  less  civilized  than  the  Indians  were  when 
America  was  discovered  by  Columbus."— Transactions  of  Society,  Vol.  I,  page  359. 


THE  ANCIENT  GRAVES  AND  EARTH- WORKS.  61 

cient  Tennessee,  than  existed  elsewhere  within  the  limits  of  the 
Mississippi  valley,  not  even  excepting  the  mound  districts  of  Cen- 
tral and  Southern  Ohio. 

The  mound  builders  of  Tennessee  probably  belonged  to  the 
same  aboriginal  stock  as  the  builders  of  the  great  mound  at  Caho- 
kia,  Illinois,  the  largest  in  the  Mississippi  valley.  ITo  one  can  com- 
pare the  pottery  from  the  stone  graves  of  the  Cumberland  valley 
with  the  vessels  dug  up  at  the  base  of  this  great  mound,  and  at 
]^ew  Madrid,  Missouri,  without  observing  that  the  majority  of 
them  are  identical  in  form  and  material,  and  some  of  the  pieces 
found  in  the  two  districts  seem  to  have  come  from  the  hands  of  the 
same  aboriginal  potter.  The  author  obtained  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty  perfect  vessels  and  images  from  the  ancient  cemeteries  re- 
cently excavated  near  ISTashville.  ]^ot  less  than  one  half  of  them 
are  of  the  familiar  New  Madrid  and  Cahokia  pattern,  and  many  of 
them  are  almost  exact  duplicates  of  the  vessels  found  by  Mr.  Mc- 
Adams  and  others  at  the  base  of  the  great  mound,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  illustrations  in  chapters  following.* 

The  intimate  relationship  that  existed  between  the  stone  grave 
builders  of  Tennessee,  and  the  other  tribes  of  the  Central  Missis- 
sippi district,  that  probably  built  the  system  of  large  earth-works  at 
Cahokia,  Illinois,  and  the  burial  mounds  near  New  Madrid,  Missouri, 
and  in  ISTorth-eastern  Arkansas,  is  further  shown  by  the  existence 
of  similar  stone  graves  in  Illinois  and  elsewhere  in  this  district, 
wherever  suitable  stone  slabs  could  be  conveniently  obtained ;  also 
by  the  house  ring  or  hut  ring  remains  of  the  rude  circular  dwellings 

■■■■  See  illustrations  and  duplicate  specimens  in  Contributions  to  the  Archfeology 
of  Missouri,  published  by  the  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Science,  and  in  Footprints  of 
Vanished  Races,  Conant,  pages  79  to  9o,  and  Records  of  Ancient  Races,  McAdams, 
pages  47  to  57.  The  single  cemetery  explored  near  Nashville,  produced  good  exam- 
ples of  every  one  of  the  fifty-one  forms  illustrating  Mr.  Conant's  article  on  the  an- 
cient pottery  of  Missouri,  excepting  four,  and  produced  many  new  and  original 
forms  not  shown  in  either  of  the  two  last-named  volumes.  Tiie  publication  of  the 
St.  Louis  Academy  of  Science  contains  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  illustrations  of 
Missouri  pottery.  Seventy-three  almost  exact  duplicates  of  these  forms  were  found 
in  the  cemeterv  near  Nashville. 


62  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

usually  found  in  the  ancient  works  of  this  district,  by  the  similar 
forms  of  burial,  and  by  the  constant  presence  of  the  large,  high, 
oblong,  central  mounds,  characteristic  of  these  works.* 

There  are  features  common  to  all  the  works  of  the  mound  build- 

* 

ing  tribes,  The  differences  are  generally  only  in  degree,  and  are 
not  believed  to  be  sufficiently  radical  to  make  it  necessary  to  attrib- 
ute them  to  different  or  distinct  races. 

There  are  also  some  traces  connecting  these  tribes  with  the 
ancient  pyramid  builders  of  Mexico,  with  the  pueblo  builders  and 
pottery  makers  of  ISTew  Mexico  and  Arizona,  and  other  Western 
tribes.  These  may  be  in  the  main  but  the  outgrowths  of  a  common 
inheritance,  and  of  tendencies  and  beliefs  springing  from  the  same 
ancestry,  and  developing  through  long  periods  in  different  paths 
and  under  varied  conditions. 

Doubtless  some  offshoot  of  the  race  or  races  that  built  up  the 
ancient  civilization  of  Mexico  or  the  semi-civilization  on  the  banks 
of  the  San  Juan  and  Rio  Grande  rivers,  finally  pushed  across  the 
wide  plains  to  the  eastward,  and  colonized  the  Mississippi  valley. 
Another  wave  of  immigration,  probably  a  more  barbarous  race,  ap- 
pears to  have  come  from  the  far  north-west.  The  date  was  too  re- 
mote for  chronology.  Centuries  of  time,  migrations,  changes,  wars, 
extinctions,  absorptions,  must  have  succeeded. 

The  more  sedentary  village  or  partiall}'  village  Indians  of  the 
South,  and  their  industrious  kindred  of  the  Ohio  valley,  were 
probably  the  progeny  of  an  ancient  race  from  the  South-west.f 

"•■■  See  description  of  an  ancient  fortified  village,  similar  to  our  Tennessee  works, 
in  Union  county,  Illinois. — American  Antiquarian,  May,  1885  (Dr.  Cyrus  Thomas), 
page  133. 

Also  descriptions  of  the  house  rings  in  Missouri  works. — Footprints  of  Vanished 
Races  (Conant),  page  60.  Mr.  Conant,  who  has  written  most  intelligently  on  tliis 
subject,  regarded  the  pottery  makers  of  New  Madrid,  Missouri,  and  the  builders  of 
the  Cahokia  mounds  as  one  and  the  same  people. 

The  chroniclers  of  De  Soto's  expedition  also  describe  a  walled  town,  similar  to 
our  Tennessee  fortified  villages,  in  North-east  Arkansas. — Historical  Collections  of 
Louisiana,  Part  II,  page  172;  Conqueest  of  Florida  (Irving,  page  322. 

t  Explorations  among  the  ancient  remains  of  Mexico,  prove  them  to  be  of  very 


THE    ANCIENT    GRAVES    AND    EARTH-WORKS.  63 

The  special  influences  of  climate,  soil,  and  environment 
that  caused  certain  tribes  of  Indians  to  adopt  the  semi-agricult- 
ural state  and  others  to  adopt  the  hunter  state,  may  readily  be 
imagined;  nor  is  it  difficult  to  account  for  their  military  and 
defensive  works,  simple  or  elaborate,  wherever  they  exist.  The 
particular  development,  and  religious  or  social  rites,  that  led  to 
the  construction  of  the  so-called  effigy  or  flgure  mounds  of  Wiscon- 
sin and  Ohio,  and  the  groups  of  more  exact  forms,  circles,  squares, 
and  the  sj'stems  of  terraced  pyramids  of  the  Ohio  valley  and  of 
the  South,  offer  some  minor  problems  more  difficult  of  solution, 
yet  these  mysteries  are  being  unraveled.  The  rude  eiSigj  works 
seem  a  natural  outgrowth  of  the  religious  rites  and  of  the  myths 
and  superstitions  of  the  Indian  race,  and  Mr.  Lewis  II.  Morgan,  in 
an  elaborate  treatise,  briefly  considered  in  the  next  chapter,  has 
offered  a  most  reasonable  explanation  of  the  peculiar  features  of  the 
Ohio  structures.*^ 

The  author  has  visited  a  number  of  the  great  mounds  in  the 
Ohio  valley.  They  are  remarkable  structures — monuments  of  labor 
and  patience  ;  and  evidently  the  remains  of  a  progressive  and  indus- 
trious race.  Imagine  a  thousand  Indians  of  the  semi-agricultural 
class — women  and  children,  men  also — with  baskets  of  willow  and 
skins,  bearing  on  heads  and  shoulders  the  alluvial  soil  from  the 
river  side,  to  raise  a  mighty  memorial  to  some  great  warrior,  or  to 
build  a  strong  defensive  work  as  a  protection  against  a  dreaded  en- 
emy, or  a  towering  home  for  an  honored  chief,  and  it  will  not  be 
difficult  to  account  for  most  of  these  large  earth-works  in  Ohio, 
Georgia,  or  Tennessee. f 

great  age.  Ruins  of  cities  and  towns  are  found,  like  the  ancient  cities  of  Asia 
Minor  and  Greece,  to  have  been  built  upon  still  more  ancient  ruins.  The  remains 
of  the  ancient  stone  pueblos  of  the  San  Juan  and  Rio  Grande  valleys,  are  also  very 
ancient.  It,  therefore,  appears  to  the  author  that,  measuring  by  the  evidences  of 
age,  it  is  much  more  probable  that  the  mound  building  tribes,  who  left  some  traces 
of  Pueblo  or  Toltec  culture,  were  of  Pueblo  or  Toltec  origin,  than  that  they  were 
ancestors  of  the  Toltecs,  a  theory  supported  by  a  number  of  writers. 

■■■•  Contributions  to  American  Ethnology  (Morgan),  Vol.  IV,  page  202. 

t  Mr.  Gerard  Fowke,  who  has  been  conducting  mound  explorations  for  the  Na- 


64  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

We  have  seen  the  busy  throng  of  a  hundred  or  more  Italian 
women  and  boys  with  baskets,  removing  the  earth  that  covered  an- 
cient Pompeii.  The  ashes  of  Vesuvius,  nearly  nineteen  centuries 
old,  buried  the  city  twenty  feet  deep  ;  yet  about  one-half  of  the  en- 
tire ruins  has  been  uncovered  and  laid  bare  to  the  eyes  of  the  trav- 
eler. Less  than  a  tithe  of  this  vast  labor  of  removal  would  have 
erected  the  largest  purely  artificial  mound  in  the  Mississippi  valley. 

The  highest  of  the  great  mounds  of  America,  at  Cahokia,  Illi- 
nois, is  but  one-fifth  of  the  height  of  the  solid  stone  pyramid  of 
Gizeh,  on  the  bank  of  the  Nile ;  and  how  insignificant  does  the 
largest  system  of  native  American  earth-works  appear,  when  com- 
pared with  a  work  of  antiquity  like  the  Chinese  Wall,  built  long 
prior  to  the  Christian  era ! 

tional  Bureau  of  Ethnology  in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  the  center  of  the  Ohio  mound 
district,  recently  reports  the  details  of  his  investigations  as  to  its  construction  as  fol- 
lows :  "  The  mound  was  raised  to  the  height  of  fifteen  feet,  with  a  diameter  of 
ninety  feet.  The  earth  was  carried  in  baskets  or  skins  holding  from  a  peck  to  two 
pecks  each.  Hundreds  of  little,  lens-shaped  masses  could  be  traced,  where  each 
had  thrown  his  burden  ;  the  weight  of  that  thrown  by  the  next  comer  flattening  it 
out." — See  report  in  Cincinnati  Commercial  Gazette,  July  23, 1883. 


THE    ANCIENT    HOUSES ABORIGINAL    TRADE.  65 


CHA^PTER    III. 

THE  ANCIENT  HOUSES— ABORIGINAL  TRADE. 

The  Houses  of  the  Mound  Builders  of  Tennessee ;  of  Arkansas,  Missouri,  and 
Illinois — Their  House  and  Home  Life — The  Testimony  of  the  Early  Writers — 
The  remains  of  House  Sites — The  Larger  Houses — Mandan  Houses — Trowels 
for  Plastering — The  Navajo  House — Store-houses — Aboriginal  Trade — Obsidian 
— Native  Copper — Catlinite — INIarine  Shells. 

The  remains  of  the  houses  occupied  by  the  mound  building 
tribes  of  the  Mississippi  valley  indicate  that  they  were  probably 
simple  in  form,  and  that  they  were  constructed  of  perishable  ma- 
terial. JSTo  tenement  or  dwelling  known  to  belong  to  their  period, 
no  rude  chimney,  or  house  of  adobe  or  brick,  or  of  stone  or  wood, 
is  left  standing  among  their  earth-works,  or  has  been  discovered  in 
its  original  form  within  the  wide  area  of  their  territory,  to  aid  us 
in  interpreting  their  unwritten  domestic  history.  The  pueblo 
tribes  of  l^ew  Mexico  and  Arizona,  who  were  not  in  advance  of 
the  Stone  Grave  race  in  the  general  scale  of  civilization,  built  vast 
communal  houses,  indeed  fortresses,  of  sun-dried  brick,  grouting, 
and  stone,  that  have  withstood  the  waste  of  centuries,  and  in  their 
magnitude,  at  least,  ofier  an  analogy  to  the  great  mounds.  The  an- 
cient Mexicans  of  the  stone  age,  and  their  southern  neighbors,  built 
imposing  mound  or  pyramid  temples,  of  almost  noble  architecture, 
now  famous  in  ruins,  but  the  northern  mound  builders,  living  amid 
difi'erent  surroundings,  so  far  as  we  are  able  to  determine,  did  not 
erect  dwellings  very  much  more  substantial  than  the  rude  struct- 
ures of  some  of  the  historic  Indians. 

To  the  original  researches  of  Lewis  H.  Morgan  we  are  proba- 
bly more  indebted  for  our  knowledge  of  house  and  home  life  among 
the  aborigines  of  America  than  to  any  other  investigator. 

The  discovery  of  the  immense  pueblos  in  the  valleys  of  the  San 
5 


66  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE, 

Juan  and  Rio  Grande  rivers,  and  the  later  scientific  reports  regard- 
ing them  made  by  Bandelier  and  others,  interpreting  their  uses 
and  the  social  system  that  existed  in  them,  have  also  greatly  con- 
tributed to  our  knowledge  of  ancient  Indian  society,  and  its  family 
and  tribal  systems.  According  to  Morgan,  aboriginal  society  in 
America  was  organized  upon  the  basis  of  kinship.  The  weakness 
of  the  single  family,  and  its  inability  to  protect  itself  in  the  strug- 
gle for  existence,  led  to  the  union  of  related  families — to  "  the  gens, 
the  phratry,  the  tribe,  and  the  confederacy  of  tribes."  It  led  also 
to  a  communal  system  of  living,  and  necessarily  to  the  erection  of 
joint  tenement  or  apartment  dwellings,  like  the  long  houses  of  the 
Iroquois,  the  large  family  houses  of  the  Mandans  and  other  tribes, 
and  the  houses  of  the  pueblo  communities.*  The  great  pueblo 
houses,  of  adobe  and  stone,  have  from  fifty  to  five  hundred  rooms, 
average  from  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand  six  hundred  feet  in  cir- 
cumference, and  are  sometimes  five  or  six  stories  high. 

Morgan  traces  this  system  through  all  the  grades  of  Indian  so- 
ciety, from  the  lodges  of  the  more  savage  tribes  to  the  great  pueblo 
or  communal  house  in  the  ancient  city  of  Mexico,  in  which  Monte- 
zuma, as  an  Aztec  chief,  gathered  about  him  his  relatives  and  at- 
tendants.f     A  single  pueblo  structure  in  IS^ew  Mexico  often  housed 

*  In  describing  the  houses  of  the  Iroquois,  Parkman  says :  "  These  singular 
structures  were  about  thirty  to  thirty-five  feet  in  length,  breadth,  and  height,  but 
many  were  much  larger,  and  a  few  were  of  prodigious  length.  In  some  of  the  vil- 
lages, there  were  dwellings  two  hundred  and  forty  feet  long,  though  in  breadth  and 
height  they  did  not  much  exceed  the  others." — The  Jesuits  in  America,  page  xxvi. 
Champlain  says  he  saw  them  in  1615  "  thirty  fathoms  long,"  and  Vanderdonk 
reports  that  he  saw  one  from  actual  measurement  five  hundred  and  forty  feet  long. 
The  houses  of  the  Mandans  of  the  Upper  Missouri  river  were  circular  in  form, 
about  forty  feet  in  diameter,  and  were  divided  into  separate  stalls  or  apartments. 
Each  lodge  would  accommodate  from  five  to  six  families,  embracing  thirty  to  forty 
persons. — Contributions  to  Ethnology  (Morgan),  Vol.  IV,  page  126.  According  to 
Rev.  J.  O.  Dorsey,  ot  the  Bureau  ot  Ethnology,  the  Dakota  word  for  "gens,"  or 
the  family  division,  came  from  a  word  signifying  "  fire-place,"  indicating  that  the 
ancient  families  were  counted  by  the  number  ot  fire-places. 

t  Cortez,  in  his  dispatches  to  Spam,  did  not  call  Montezuma  ''  El  Roy,"  or  king, 
but  "Seiior,"  or  cacique. — Contributions  to  Ethnology  (Morgan),  Vol.  IV,  page  223. 


THE    ANCIENT    HOUSES ABORIGINAL    TRADE.  67 

the  entire  population,  and  constituted  a  town  or  village,  as  tlie  an- 
cient fortified  inclosures  of  Tennessee  formed  the  villages  of  the 
mound  builders.  Some  of  the  houses  of  the  cliff  dwellers  in  the 
rugged  canons  of  Colorado  also  contained  more  than  a  hundred  dif- 
ferent apartments  or  rooms. 

The  first  stories  of  the  pueblos  were  without  outside  doors  or 
openings.  The  villagers  scaled  the  sides  or  walls  to  reach  their 
separate  rooms,  and  lived  upon  the  upper  terraces  of  these  struct- 
ures, which  were  sometimes  five  or  six  stories  high.  Even  chim- 
neys were  unknown  to  them  prior  to  the  Spanish  conquest,  and  the 
smoke  from  their  fires  found  its  way  through  holes  in  the  roof,  after 
the  Indian  wigwam  sty]e.* 

The  elaborate  systems  of  earth-works  and  inclosures  in  the 
Ohio  valle}'  suggest  many  analogies  to  these  pueblo  structures.  The 
raised  embankments  aflbrded  a  means  of  defense,  and  also  elevated 
platforms  for  dwellings,  thus  combining  the  defensive  and  com- 
munal features  of  the  pueblos.  Both  were  similarly  located  along 
never  failing  streams.  Within  the  ramparts  of  these  large  Ohio 
works,  which  Morgan  styles  "  high  bank  pueblos,"  f  there  was  room 
for  stores,  fuel,  games,  and  recreation  in  times  of  danger,  and  some- 
times for  gardens.  The  lesser  works,  without  the  main  structures, 
may  have  been  fortified  inclosures  for  horticulture  or  other  pur- 
poses. 

The  houses  of  wood  and  clay,  that  must  have  crowned  the 
embankments,  have  decayed  and  disappeared;  the  clay  or  sun-dried 
brick  probably  used  by  these  tribes  have  crumbled  in  the  moist, 
frosty  climate  of  Ohio,  and  left  few  traces  behind.  The  views  pre- 
sented by  Morgan  offer  the  first  and  only  reasonably  satisfactory 
hypothesis  as  to  the  probable  use  of  many  of  these  remarkable  re- 
mains. Morgan  regarded  them  as  the  works  of  tribes  of  Indians 
of  the  village  or  sedentary  class — of  the  same  grade  as  the  pueblo 

*  No  chimneys  were  discovered  in  the  ancient  stone  houses  of  Central  America 
and  chimneys  as  now  built  were  unknown  to  our  European  ancestors  until  about 
five  hundred  years  ago. 

t  Contributions  to  Ethnology  (Morgan),  Vol.  IV,  page  2i0. 


68  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE.' 

tribes  of  ^ew  Mexico.  According  to  Frank  Cusliing,  the  original 
ancient  pueblo  dwelling  was  probably  a  circular  wigwam,  or  "  brush 
hut,"  somewhat  similar  to  a  modern  Navajo  house  or  hut.  He  says 
the  large  pueblo  structures  were  probably  developed  by  evolution 
from  these  primitive  houses  by  "a  sequence  of  architectural  types," 
the  result  of  the  location  of  weak  and  scattered  tribes  in  the  midst 
of  "  an  almost  waterless  area,"  where  stone  was  abundant,  and 
where  they  were  iinally  compelled  to  erect  these  stone  and  clay 
fortress-houses  for  safety,  as  the  cliff  dwellers  were  forced  to  build 
their  homes  in  inaccessible  clitis.*  Had  some  of  these  natives  mi- 
grated at  an  early  period  from  the  pueblo  districts,  near  the  head- 
waters of  the  Arkansas  river,  in  ISTew  Mexico,  down  into  the  primi- 
tive forests  of  the  lower  Arkansas,  a  well-watered,  fertile,  and 
heavily-timbered  country,  or  into  Tennessee,  it  seems  natural  that 
their  new  environment  would  have  led  to  methods  of  house  life,  and 
defensive  works  difl'erent  from  those  adopted  in  the  almost  treeless 
and  waterless  highlands  of  iSTew  Mexico.  Houses  of  wood  and 
clay,  or  earth,  raised  earth-works,  and  stockade  defenses  would 
seem  to  be  the  natural  outgrowth  of  these  new  and  dift'erent  sur- 
roundings. 

The  ancient  works  of  Tennessee  were  apparently  of  simple  con- 
struction, but  they  indicate  the  existence  of  large  family  dwellings 
as  a  characteristic  of  aboriginal  society.  Early  historical  records  are 
also  in  harmony  with  this  view.  From  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  we 
learn  that  some  of  the  houses  in  the  fortihed  native  towns  visited 
by  De  Soto  were  very  large.  He  says  "the  whole,  number  of- 
houses"  (in  Mauvila,  Alabama)  "did  not  exceed  eighty,  but  they 
were  of  size  capable  of  lodging  from  five  to  fifteen  hundred  persons 
each,"  a  statement  probably  extravagant,  but  generally  sustained  by 
the  other  chronicles. t 

Joutel,  one  of  La  Salle's  companions  in  1687,  tells  us  that  when 
they  visited  the  village  of  the  Cenis,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  "  The 

*  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Vol.  IV,  pages  473,  481. 

t  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  L.  Ill,  C.  20;  Conquest  of  Florida  (Irving),  page  262. 


THE    ANCIENT    HOUSES ABORIGINAL    TRADE.  69 

Indian  town,  with  its  large  thatched  lodges,  looked  like  a  cluster  of 
gigantic  haycocks."  He  declares  that  "  some  of  them  were  sixty 
feet  in  diameter."  *  Joutel's  description  of  one  of  these  dwellings 
illustrates  the  house  life  of  the  southern  Indians  at  that  early  period. 
"  These  lodges  of  the  Cenis,"  he  says,  "  often  contained  eight  or  ten 
families.  They  were  made  by  firmly  planting  in  a  circle  tall, 
straight,  young  trees,  such  as  grew  in  the  swamps.  The  tops  were 
then  bent  inward,  and  lashed  together,  and  the  frame  thus  con- 
structed was  thickly  covered  with  thatch,  a  hole  being  left  at  the 
top  for  the  escape  of  the  smoke.  The  inmates  were  ranged  around 
the  circumference  of  the  structure,  each  family  in  a  kind  of  stall, 
open  in  front,  but  separated  from  those  adjoining  by  partitions  of 
mats.  Here  they  placed  their  beds  of  cane,  their  painted  robes  of 
buffalo  and  deer  skin,  their  cooking  utensils  of  pottery,  and  other 
household  goods ;  and  here,  too,  the  head  of  the  family  hung  his 
bow,  quiver,  lance,  and  shield.  There  was  nothing  in  common  but 
the  fire,  which  burned  in  the  middle  of  the  lodge,  and  was  never 
suffered  to  go  out."  f 

In  Iberville's  Journal,  it  is  stated  that  the  cabins  of  the  Bayo- 
goulas,  a  tribe  of  Louisiana,  were  circular  in  form,  about  thirty 
feet  in  diameter,  and  plastered  with  clay  to  the  height  of  a  man.;]; 
Adair  says  the  winter  cabins,  or  hot  houses  of  the  Cherokees, 
and  several  other  tribes,  were  circular,  and  covered  six  or  seven 
inches  thick  with  tough  clay,  mixed  with  grass.  Father  Gravier, 
speaking. of  the  Tounicas  of  Arkansas,  says:  "Their  cabins  were 
round  and  vaulted.  They  were  lathed  with  cane,  and  plastered  with 
mud  from  bottom  to  ti)p,  within  and  without,  with  a  good  covering 
of  straw."  II  Tonti,  who  accompanied  La  Salle,  in  1682,  describes 
his  visit  to  the  town  of  Taensas  on  the  Lower  Mississippi.  He  says 
the  natives  had  "  large  square  dwellings,  built  of  sun-baked  mud, 
mixed  with  straw,  arched  over  with  a  dome-shaped  roof  of  canes, 

*  La  Salle  (Parkman),  pages  415,  417. 

t  La  Salle  (Parkman),  page  417. 

t  Prof.  Cyrus  Thomas,  ^Magazine  of  American  History,  February,  1884. 

II  Early  French  Voyages  (Shea),  page  135. 


70.  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

and  placed  in  regular  order  around  an  open  area.  Two  of  them 
were  larger  and  better  than  the  rest.  One  was  the  lodge  of  the 
chief,  the  other  was  the  temple  or  house  of  the  sun.  The  house  of 
the  chief  was  about  forty  feet  square,  with  no  opening  but  the  door. 
The  temple  '  where  they  kept  the  bones  of  their  departed  chiefs,' 
in  construction,  was  much  like  the  chief's  house ;  a  strong  mud  wall 
planted  with  stakes  surrounded  it.  In  the  middle  of  the  temple 
was  a  kind  of  an  altar,  before  which  a  '  perpetual  fire,'  composed 
of  large  logs,  was  burning,  and  was  watched  by  two  old  men  de- 
voted to  their  ofiice."*  The  "temple"  in  Georgia,  described  hy 
La  Vega,  was  much  larger  at  the  entrance,  and  inside  were  large, 
rude,  wooden  statues,  one  twelve  feet  high.  Wooden  chests,  skill- 
fully wrought,  contained  "  the  bodies  of  the  departed  caciques  and 
chieftains  of  Cofachiqui,  left  to  their  natural  decay,  for  these  edi- 
fices were  merely  used  as  charnel  houses."  Annexed  to  this 
"  mausoleum "  were  other  buildings,  which  served  as  "  armories," 
containing  weapons,  all  arranged  in  order,  and  maintained  with 
care.f 

Turning  from  these  historical  accounts  to  an  examination  of 
the  traces  of  the  house  remains  found  in  the  ancient  settlements  of 
Tennessee  and  the  neighboring  states,  we  find  they  verify  the  state- 
ments of  the  early  discoverers. 

Prof.  F.  W.  Putnam,  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  in  his  report  upon 
the  ancient  earth-works  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  says:  "Scattered 
irregularly  within  the  inclosure  are  nearly  one  hundred  more  or  less 
defined  circular  ridges  of  earth,  which  are  from  a  few  inches  to  a 
little  over  three  feet  in  height,  and  of  diameters  varying  from  ten 
to  fifty  feet.  An  examination  of  these  numerous  low  mounds,  or, 
rather,  earth-rings  (as  there  could  generally  be  traced  a  central  de- 
pression), soon  convinced  me,  that  I  had  before  me  the  remains  of 
the  dwellings  of  the  people  who  had  erected  the  large  mound,  made 
the  earthen  embankment,  buried  their  dead  in  the  stone  graves,  and 

«  La  Salle  (Parkman),  page  281. 

t  Conquest  of  Florida  (Irving),  page  231. 


THE    ANCIENT    HOUSES ABORIGINAL    TRADE.  71 

lived  in  this  fortified  town,  as  I  now  feel  I  have  a  right  to  desig- 
nate it.  JSTineteen  of  the  best  defined  of  these  earth  circles  were 
carefully  explored,  with  very  gratifying  results,  and  proved  to  my 
satisfaction  that  the  ridges  were  formed  by  the  decay  of  the  walls 
of  a  circular  dwelling,  al)0ut  which  had  accumulated,  during  its 
occupancy,  such  materials  as  would  naturally  form  the  sweepings 
and  refuse  of  a  dwelling  of  a  people  no  further  advanced  toward 
civilization  than  were  these  mound  builders  of  the  Cumberland 
valley.  These  houses  had  probably  consisted  of  a  frail  circular 
structure,  tlie  decay  of  wliich  would  leave  only  a  slight  elevation, 
the  formation  of  the  ridge  being  assisted  by  the  refuse  from  the 
house." 

Prof.  Putnam  states  that  "  the  houses  of  the  people  were 
from  fifteen  to  forty  feet  in  diameter,  and  probably  made  entirely 
of  poles,  covered  with  mud,  mats,  or  skins,  as  their  decay  has  left 
a  ring  of  rich  black  earth  mixed  with  refuse,  consisting  of  broken 
bones,  broken  pottery,  etc."  * 

He  also  states :  "After  the  recent  soil  within  the  ridges 
had  been  removed,  hard  floors  were  discovered,  upon  which  fires 
had  been  made ;  while  in  the  dirt  forming  the  ridges  were  found 
fragments  of  pottery,  broken  and  perfect  implements  of  stone, 
several  discoidal  stones,  most  of  which  were  made  of  limestone, 
bones,  teeth,  charcoal,  etc.  On  removing  the  hardened  and  burned 
earth  forming  the  floors  of  the  houses,  and  at  a  depth  of  from  one 
and  a  half  to  three  feet,  small  stone  graves  were  found  in  eleven  of 
the  nineteen  circles  that  were  carefully  examined."  These  were 
graves  of  children,  and  from  them  "  were  obtained  the  best  speci- 
mens of  pottery  found  within  the  earth-works,  with  shell  beads, 
pearls,  and  polished  stones  of  natural  forms,  which  were  probably 
playthings."  f 

The  house  site  rings  discovered  by  the  author  within  the  forti- 
fied works  in  Sumner  county,  Tennessee,  near  Saundersville,  were  of 

■■■■  Eleventh  Annual  Report  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  pages 
205,  347. 

t  Eleventh  Annual  Report  Peabody  Museum,  page  351. 


72  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

the  same  general  character,  averaging  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  in 
diameter,  and  having  burned  chxy  tire  hearths  in  the  center. 

The  agents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  who  have  explored 
the  earth-works  of  Arkansas,  Missouri,  and  sections  of  Illinois,  have 
made  similar  reports  as  to  the  character  of  the  dwellings  occupied 
by  the  tribes  of  pottery  makers  of  these  districts.  Prof.  Thomas 
states  that  "in  numerous  instances,  probably  hundreds,  beds  of 
hard  burned  clay,  containing  impressions  of  grass  and  cane,  were 
observed ;  these  were  generally  found  one  or  two  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  low  flat  mounds,  from  one  to  five  feet  high,  and  from 
fifteen  to  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  though  by  no  means  confined  to 
mounds  of  this  character,  as  they  were  also  observed  near  the 
surface  of  the  large  flat  topped  and  conical  mounds." 

So  common  were  these  burned  clay  beds  in  the  low,  flat 
mounds,  and  so  evidently  the  remains  of  former  houses,  that  the 
explorers  generally  speak  of  them  in  their  reports  as  "house 
sites."  * 

These  evidences  of  the  character  of  the  dwellings  of  the  Stone 
Grave  race,  and  their  pottery  making  kindred  of  the  Central  Mis- 
sissippi district,  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely,  but  they  are  suf- 
ficient to   show  the  methods  of  their  construction,  and  that  they 

*  Magazine  of  American  History  (Prof.  Cyrus  Thomas),  February,  1884.  Prof. 
W.  B.  Potter,  of  the  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Science,  who  explored  a  large  number  of 
mounds  in  South-east  Missouri,  found  inclosures  similar  to  those  found  in  Middle 
Tennessee,  with  the  large  central  mounds  of  about  the  same  size,  and  thus  refers  to 
the  house  sites :  "A  marked  feature  of  all  the  inclosed  groups  of  mounds  found  in 
South-east  Missouri  is  the  occurrence  of  a  large  number  of  circular  depressions, 
which  seem  to  mark  the  sites  of  huts  or  dwelling-places.  The  average  depth  of 
these  depressions  is  about  two  feet,  and  the  diameter  thirty  feet.  The  (tenters  are 
fifty  to  sixty  feet  apart.  There  is  no  systematic  arrangement  or  grouping  of  the  de- 
pressions. In  the  center,  and  occasionally  at  one  side,  of  these  depressions,  there 
can  be  found,  at  a  depth  of  about  fifteen  inches  below  the  present  surface,  a  square 
of  burned  or  partially  burned  clay,  about  thirty  inches  by  twenty-five  inches.  The 
clay  was  evidently  placed  there  designedly,  for  it  is  entirely  difTerent  from  the 
sandy  clay  or  loam  which  occurs  elsewhere  throughout  the  settlements.  Small 
pieces  of  charcoal  and  fragments  of  bone  have  been  obtained  from  these  hearths."  — 
Archaeology  of  Missouri  (Potter),  page  10. 


THE    ANCIENT    HOUSES ABORIGINAL    TRADE.  73 

were  necessarily  built  of  wood  or  other  perishable  materials,  and 
could  not  have  been  very  much  more  elaborate  or  substantial  than 
the  dwelHngs  of  the  Indians  known  to  history.  We  have  also  some 
valuable  information  from  archaeological  sources  as  to  the  larger 
or  public  houses  of  the  mound  building  tribes,  and  confirming  the 
historical  accounts  of  their  erection  upon  the  mounds.'^ 

Doubtless,  systematic  explorations  will  reveal  further  facts  re- 
garding them. 

■'■■  Colonel  Morris,  an  agent  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  some  time  since  ex- 
plored a  group  of  earth-works  in  Butler  county,  Missouri,  consisting  of  "an  inclosing 
wall  and  ditch,  two  large  outer  excavations,  and  four  inside  mounds."  The  largest 
mound  had  an  average  diameter  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet,  and  was 
twenty  feet  high.  Deeply  imbedded  within  the  central  portions  of  the  mound  were 
found  two  large  upright  charred  jjosts,  near  the  charred  and  decaying  remains  of 
horizontal  or  cross  timbers,  and  in  connection  with  burned  clay,  ashes,  charcoal, 
and  charred  bones,  indicating  almost  certainly  the  remains  of  a  large  house  struct- 
ure, built  upon  or  in  connection  with  this  mound,  or  upon  the  smaller  mound,  upon 
which  the  main  mound  appears  to  have  been  subsequently  erected.  Within  the 
different  strata  or  layers  of  the  mound  were  the  remains  of  nine  large  fire-beds,  in- 
dicating altars,  sacrifices,  burial  ceremonies,  or,  possibly,  merely  the  fir o-hearths 
used  at  different  periods  of  occupation. — Magazine  of  American  History  (Thomas), 
February,  1884.  Gerard  Fowke,  an  assistant  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  also  re- 
ports that  recently,  in  exploring  a  large  mound  on  the  Scioto  river,  in  lioss  county, 
Ohio,  he  discovered  the  remains  of  wooden  "posts  set  in  pairs  around  the  edge; 
other  posts  at  intervals  within  assisted"  (or  may  have  assisted)  "in  holding  up  the 
roof.  The  interior  spacQ  was  nearly  forty  feet  across.  A  streak  an  inch  thick  of 
mingled  ashes,  charcoal,  and  black  earth,  spread  over  the  floor,  indicated  the  usual 
untidy  appearance  of  the  aboriginal  housekeeping."  The  skeleton  remains  of  an 
elaborate  burial  were  inclosed  in  the  mounds,  and  appearances  indicated  that  the 
house  had  been  torn  away  or  burned,  and  the  mound  subsequently  increased  in  size 
over  the  remains. — Gerard  Fowke's  Report,  in  the  Cincinnati  Commercial  Gazette, 
July  23,  1888.  In  1876,  Prof.  Carr,  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  in  exploring  a  large 
mound  in  Lee  county,  Virginia,  discovered  a  series  of  decaying  cedar  posts,  imbed- 
ded in  a  circle  around  the  top  of  the  mound,  which  the  intelligent  explorer  regarded 
as  the  remains  of  a  large  house  structure  similar  to  the  council-house  Adair  saw  on  a 
mound  in  the  old  Cherokee  town  of  Cowe,  Georgia,  in  1773. — Tenth  Annual  Report 
Peabody  Museum,  page  75.  Prof.  Putnam  also  found  an  upright  cedar  post  still 
standing  deeply  planted  in  the  large  ancient  mound  of  the  Lebanon  group,  in  Ten- 


74  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

Researches  among  the  remains  of  the  ordinary  dwellins^s — the 
dirt  or  clay  floors  invariably  found;  their  width  and  generally  cir- 
cular form,  the  fire  beds  in  the  center;  the  traces  of  perishable  ma- 
terials used  in  their  construction  ;  the  irregular  manner  in  which 
they  were  scattered  within  the  fortified  inclosures — all  seem  to  iden- 
tify them  as  of  the  same  general  character  as  some  of  the  houses 
and  huts  of  the  natives  described  by  the  Spanish  and  French  dis- 
coverers.* 

We  have,  unfortunately,  from  historic  sources,  few  illustrations 
of  the  better  class  of  Indian  houses  of  the  early  frontier.  A  ground 
plan  and  cross  section  of  one  of  the  typical  dwellings  of  the  Man- 
dan  Indians  of  the  Upper  Missouri  country  (Figs.  11  and  12),  will 
show  a  method  of  house  construction  employed  by  that  tribe,  by 
which  homes  of  considerable  comfort  were  provided. 

They  doubtless  differed  materially  from  the  clay-plastered 
dwellings  occupied  by  some  of  the  advanced  tribes  of  southern  In- 
dians;  yet,  after  centuries  of  abandonment  and  decay,  such  habita- 
tions would  have  left  remains,  not  unlike  some  of  the  house  site  re- 
mains now  found  within  the  ancient  earth-works  of  Tennessee. 

The  illustrations  explain  themselves  sufficiently  for  our  pur- 
pose, and  show  the  circular  forms,  the  upright  timbers,  and  the  fire 
pits  or  hearths  in  the  center  of  these  houses. 

They  were  about  forty  feet  in  diameter,  and  were  scattered  ir- 
regularly within  the  fortified  village  sites,  like  the  circular  house 
floors  found  within  the  works  at  Lebanon  and  Saundersville. 

ISTo  traces  or  remains  of  a  more  advanced  system  of  house  con- 
struction than  that  observed  by  the  early  explorers  have  been  found 
within  the  mound  or  embankment  works  of  Tennessee  or  elsewhere 
within  the  mound  area,  yet,  under  the  floors  and  about  these  primitive 
homes,  and  within  the  adjacent  cemeteries  of  the  Stone  Grave  race, 
have  been  found  many  of  the  most  elaborately  wrought  implements, 
vessels  of  pottery,  and  ornaments  of  stone  and  shell,  yet  discovered 

*  The  Huron  Iroquois  town  covered  a  space  of  from  one  to  ten  acres,  "  the 
dwellings  clustering  together  with  little  or  no  pretension  to  order."— The  Jesuits 
(Parkman),  page  xxvi. 


THE    ANCIENT    HOUSES ABORIGINAL    TRADE. 


75 


within  the  Mississippi  valley,  showing  that  the  ancient  towns- 
people and  villagers  who  lived  in  these  primitive  dwellings  of  Mid- 
dle Tennessee  had  reached  a  state  of  development  not  inferior  to 
that  of  the  mound  tribes  of  Ohio  or  the  most  advanced  Indian 
tribes  of  the  pueblos  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona. 


Fig.  11. — Ground  Plan  of  Mandan  House. 


Fig.  12. — Cross  Section.*' 


The  remains  of  art  and  industry  indicate  that  the  dwellings,  al- 
though simple  in  form,  and  of  comparatively  temporary  character, 
must  have  been  constructed  with  considerable  care,  and  were 
doubtless   sufficiently  substantial   to    securely    house    tiieir  various 


*  From  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Ethnology  (Morgan),  Vol.  IV,  pages  126, 


127. 


76 


ANTIQUITIES    OP    TENNESSEE. 


articles  of  domestic  use,  some  of  which  were  delicate  and  costly. 
The  earthern  floors,  we  find,  were  sometimes  covered  with  mats, 
after  the  historic  style.  The  adobe  or  clay-plastered  walls  of  the 
Arkansas  tribes  were  also  often  ornamented  with  molded  work  of 
reeded  patterns,  and  even  painted,  as  we  know  from  the  clay  re- 
mains found  on  the  circular  house  floors,  and  now  preserved  in  the 
!N^ational  Museum  at  Washington. 

Since  this  chapter  was  originally  written,  a  discovery  was  made 
by  one  of  the  writer's  assistants  (in  January,  1890),  in  exploring  the 
large  aboriginal  cemetery,  near  Nashville,  that  throws  considerable 
light  upon  the  ancient  houses.     In  a  single  grave  were  found  five 


Fig.  13. — Plasteking  Trowels  (One-fourth),  Noel  Cemetery,  Nashville.* 

implements  of  well  burned  clay,  which  we  are  satisfied  were  used 
as  -plastering  troivels.  They  were  evidently  the  outfit  or  set  of  tools 
of  an  aboriginal  plasterer  of  the  old  city  upon  Brown's  creek.  The 
two  largest  of  these  trowels,  measuring  about  six  inches  in  diam- 
eter, are  illustrated  in  Fig.  13. 

The  flat  smoothing  surfaces,  circular  in  form,  are  burned  nearly 
as  hard  as  stone,  as  if  made  to  stand  hard  usage.  The  three  smaller 
trowels  of  the  set,  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter,  are  oblong  in 
form,  and  have  similar  handles.  All  show  evidences  of  use,  and  are 
somewhat  worn.  Indeed,  a  very  thin  pohshed  outside  coating  of 
clay  may  still  be  seen  upon  three  of  them,  indicating  very  clearly 
that  they  were  used  in  smoothing  some  clay  surface  or  wall. 


Author's  collection. 


THE    ANCIENT    HOUSES ABORIGINAL    TRADE.  77 

The  different  sizes  were  probably  suitable  for  finishing  the  va- 
rious kinds  of  plastering  work.  Some  of  the  smaller  ones  may 
have  been  used  in  making  the  large  vessels  of  pottery.  The  subject 
of  pottery  and  plastering  trowels  will  be  considered  in  the  chapter 
upon  implements  of  pottery,  where  other  illustrations  of  these  ob- 
jects will  be  presented. 

This  set  of  plastering  tools  is  a  most  interesting  and  suggestive 
discovery.  ISTo  one  would  have  gone  to  the  trouble  of  procuring  or 
making  these  fine  trowels  to  plaster  a  single  residence.  They  must 
have  been  the  tools  of  some  artisan  engaged  in  this  occupation,  and 
they  were  probably  placed,  with  his  other  worldly  treasures,  in  the 
grave  in  which  he  was  buried,  after  the  aboriginal  custom.  Such 
objects  would  not  have  been  placed  there  as  a  tribute  of  afifection  or 
esteem.  They  indicate  that  in  the  prehistoric  period,  men  followed 
the  business  of  plastering,  and  that  some  of  the  adobe  or  clay  plas- 
tered houses  were  plastered  with  care  by  skillful  workmen,  and 
were  probably  of  a  better  character  than  has  been  generally  sup- 
posed, and  better  also  than  we  have  represented  them. 

Fine  clay  abounded  throughout  this  section,  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  believe  that  such  mechanics  were  less  skillful  in  their  work 
upon  the  houses  of  the  stone  grave  settlements  than  were  the  pot- 
tery makers  of  the  same  tribe,  who  made  the  fine  vessels  of  earthen- 
ware. The  houses  were  probably  made  of  adobe  or  grouting,  in 
part,  as  were  some  of  the  houses  of  the  pueblo  tribes.  Unoccupied 
and  uncared  for,  they  could  not  long  have  withstood  the  moist  at- 
mosphere of  Tennessee.  A  single  century,  with  the  aid  of  fire  and 
frost,  would  have  been  more  than  sufiicient  to  destroy  them,  and 
leave  to  the  archaeologist  only  the  "house  site"  remains  now  found. 

Doubtless  many  of  the  implements,  ornaments,  and  utensils, 
showing  evidences  of  some  refinement,  were  made  and  used  in  these 
clay  plastered  dwellings. 

Among  the  historic  Indians,  it  is  not  unusual  to  find  varieties 
of  good  ware  and  well-wrought  implements  and  fabrics  manufact- 
ured in  rude  dwellings  and  amid  wild  surroundings.  The  N'avajos 
of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  live  in  common  lodges  or  huts,  made 


78 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


of  rough  logs,  and  thatched,  or  covered  with  earth.  Like  the 
houses  of  the  mound  building  tribes  of  Tennessee,  their  houses  are 
circular  in  form,  and  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  in  diameter.  Ac- 
cording to  Frank  Gushing,  the  remains  of  their  ancient  dwellings 
show  that  they  were  also  circular  in  form.  The  sketch  of  a  modern 
l^avajo  hut  (Fig.  14),  will  show  its  rude  and  primitive  construction. 
Yet  the  jSTavajos  make  beautiful  and  finely  woven  blankets, 
with  home-made  dyes  and  of  rich  and  varied  designs,  in  these  com- 


FiG.  14. — A  Navajo  Dwelling.-^ 


mon  dwellings  and  in  the  open  air,  under  the  neighboring  trees.  Of 
late  years,  they  have  also  become  expert  silversmiths,  and,  with  the 
aid  of  rude  forges,  they  manufacture  jewelry  that  would  be  a  credit 
to  civilized  artisans.  They  make  fine  basket  and  feather  work,  and 
excel  in  several  of  the  arts  and  industries  of  domestic  life.f     Some 

*  From  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology  (Powell),  Vol.  IV,  page  473. 

t  The  Navajos  and  Pimas  of  the  village  Indian  class  are  similar  in  many  of  their 
habits  and  characteristics  to  the  naound  tribes  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  They 
tattoo  their  faces ;  they  made  pottery  ware  sometimes  representing  animal  forms ; 
they  used  stone  implements  not  unlike  those  of  the  Stone  Grave  race  ;  they  culti- 
vated maize  and  beans  and  tobacco,  and  were  a  docile  and  progressive  tribe. 


THE    ANCIENT    HOUSES — ABORIGINAL    TRADE.  79 

of  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  that  live 
in  rude  huts,  excel  all  other  native  tribes  north  of  Mexico,  in  artistic 
carvings  in  wood  and  stone. 

It  seems  that  there  were,  probably,  general  storehouses,  in  the 
prehistoric  period,  in  the  larger  towns  of  the  Mississippi  valley. 

We  are  told  by  the  "  Portugese  Narrative,"  that,  at  the  date  of 
De  Soto's  expedition,  some  of  the  towns  visited  contained  "  store- 
houses" filled  with  rich  and  comfortable  clothing,  such  as  mantles 
of  hemp  and  feathers  of  every  color,  exquisitely  arranged,  forming 
admirable  cloaks  for  winter,  with  a  variety  of  dressed  deer-skin 
garments,  and  skins  of  the  marten,  bear,  and  panther  nicely  packed 
away  in  blankets.* 

The  extent  of  aboriginal  trade,  and  of  the  interchange  of  com- 
modities among  the  natives  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  can  scarcely 
be  realized  without  some  investigation.  Among  the  remains  dis- 
covered in  the  ancient  cemeteries  near  JS'ashville,  as  heretofore 
stated,  were  many  articles  showing  intercourse  or  commercial  rela- 
tions with  the  tribes  of  distant  sections.  Objects  of  native  copper 
from  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  ornamented  sea  shells  from  the 
gulf  and  south  Atlantic  coast,  finely  wrought  articles  of  cannel 
coal,  and  implements  of  polished  hematite  from  distant  mines,  and 
of  quartz,  steatite,  syenite,  and  slate  were  found. 

That  obsidian  or  volcanic  glass,  copper,  and  catlinite,  originally 
found  only  in  special  known  localities,  should  be  unearthed  thou- 
sands of  miles  from  their  native  beds,  and  often  in  considerable 
quantities,  has  been  a  matter  of  surprise,  even  to  archaeologists, 
and  indicates  the  very  great  extent  of  ancient  intertribal  com- 
munication. 

■■■  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  Part  II,  page  172 ;  History  of  Alabama 
(Pickett),  Vol.  I,  page  55.  "There  were  found  in  the  town  many  mantles  and  deer- 
skins, lion-skins,  and  bear-skins,  and  many  cat-skins;  many  came  so  far  poorly  ap- 
pareled, and  there  they  clothed  themselves.  Of  the  mantles  they  made  them  coats 
and  cassocks,  and  some  made  gowns,  and  lined  them  with  cat-skins,  and  likewise 
their  cassocks.  Of  the  deer-skins  some  made  them  also  jerkins,  shirts,  hose,  and 
shoes ;  and  of  the  bear-skins  they  made  them  very  good  cloaks." — Portugese  Narra- 
tive, page  711. 


80  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

Obsidian  in  situ  is  not  found  east  of  Mexico  or  Colorado,  yet 
Dr.  Troost,  the  former  learned  geologist  of  Tennessee,  and  Dr. 
Joseph  Jones,  both  report  its  discovery  in  Tennessee.* 

Copper  in  its  native  state,  suitable  for  hammering  into  imple- 
ments or  ornaments,  is  found  in  situ  in  the  upper  peninsula  of 
Michigan, along  the  borders  of  Lake  Superior.  It  has  not  been  dis- 
covered elsewhere  in  this  form  south  of  this  general  district,  ex- 
cepting in  very  small  quantities  in  one  or  two  localities.  The 
ancient  copper  pits  or  mines  along  the  southern  shore  of  the  lake, 
worked  by  aboriginal  miners,  have  frequently  been  described. f 

It  is  a  remarkable  indication  of  the  far-reaching  extent  of 
aboriginal  trade,  that  native  copper,  necessarily  from  these  northern 
mines,  has  been  found  in  nearly  every  section  of  the  country,  east 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  including  the  Gulf  states.  It  is  discov- 
ered in  the  mounds  and  graves,  and  elsewhere,  in  the  form  of  im- 
plements, ornaments,  knives,  spear-heads,  and  other  objects. 

A  number  of  interesting  articles  of  native  copper  found  in  Ten- 
nessee will  be  described  in  subsequent  chapters. 

The  widely  spread  use  of  catlinite  also  indicates  the  extent  of 
aboriginal  trade.  The  identity  of  its  original  location  is  more 
marked  than  that  of  native  copper.  This  beautiful  and  easily 
worked  red  pipe  stone  is  only  found  in  situ  in  the  ancient  quarries 
of  the  "  Coteau  des  Prairies  "  on  the  western  border  of  Minnesota. 
Carver,  who  visited  the  Upper  Mississippi  region,  in  1766-68, 
marked  it  on  his  majjs  as  the  "  Country  of  Peace,"  because  all 
the  tribes  met  there  in  peace  to  obtain  pipe  stone, :j:  an  illustration 
of   the   reasonable    and   gentle    side    of    the    Indian    character  ex- 

■•■■  Troost's  "Ancient  Remains  in  Tennessee,"  in  Transactions  of  the  American 
Ethnological  Society,  Vol.  I,  page  361 ;  Aboriginal  Remains  (Jones),  page  76.  Squier 
and  Davis  found  obsidian  arrow  points  and  fragments  in  five  ancient  mounds  in  the 
Scioto  valley,  in  Ohio. — Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  page  306. 
It  has  also  been  discovered  in  Mississippi  and  Wisconsin. 

t  The  writer  visited  these  mines  years  ago,  and  discovered  a  grooved  stone  ax, 
used  by  the  natives  in  their  mining  work. 

X  Carver's  Travels,  page  78. 


THE    ANCIENT    HOUSES ABORIGINAL    TRADE.  81 

quisitely  pictured  by  Longfellow  in  his  "  Song  of  Hiawatha." 
There  the  Great  Spirit — 

"  Smoked  the  calumet,  the  Peace  pipe, 
As  a  signal  to  the  nations," 

to  come  as  brothers  from  near  and  far  to  this  famous  neutral  ground, 
bury  their  feuds  and  hatreds,  and  quarry  the  pipes  of  peace.* 

Catlinite  pipes  must  have  been  used  by  most  of  the  ancient 
and  modern  tribes.  The  Delawares,  Iroquois,  and  Kew  England 
Indians,  far  to  the  east,  used  them.  They  have  been  found  in  the 
mounds  of  Ohio  and  Illinois. 

The  catlinite  pipe  found  in  a  stone  grave  in  the  ISToel  cemetery, 
near  ITashville,  and  now  in  the  author's  collection,  is  a  typical 
specimen  of  prehistoric  art.  It  offers  positive  proof  of  ancient  re- 
lations or  intercourse  with  the  tribes  of  the  far  ISTorth-west,  the 
ancient  home  of  the  Mandan  and  Dakota  Indians. f  There  is  no 
difficulty  in  identifying  the  well-known  clay  stone  of  which  this 
pipe  is  made.  It  is  only  found  in  the  locality  mentioned,  and  is 
familiar  to  all  collectors. | 

The  extent  of  intercourse  and  traffic  among  the  ancient  tribes 
is  also  well  illustrated  by  the  widely  distributed  marine  shells  found 
in  the  prehistoric  cemeteries  of  Tennessee.  Vast  stores  of  them  are 
discovered,  m  an  unusual  variety  of  forms.  Whether  from  their  for- 
tunate preservation   in   the   stone  graves,  or  from  their  more  recent 

*  The  poet  Longfellow  says  they  came — 

"  From  the  vale  of  Tawasentha, 

From  the  valley  of  Wyoming, 

From  the  groves  of  Tuscalusa, 

From  the  far  off  Rocky  Mountains, 

From  the  Northern  lakes  and  rivers; 

All  the  tribes  beheld  the  signal. 

Saw  the  distant  smoke  ascending, 

The  Pukwana  of  the  Peace  Pipe." 
t  Some  authorities  have  suggested  that  the  Mandans  were  probably  descendants 
of  the  mound  building  tribes. 

+  Tlie  catlinite  pipe  is  illustrated  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

6 


82  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

date  of  deposit,  no  other  state  can  compare  witli  Tennessee  in  the 
number  and  beauty  of  the  shell  ornaments  and  utensils  found 
among  its  ancient  remains.  Beads,  pendants,  gorgets  engraved  and 
plain,  pins,  ear-rings,  implements,  cups,  and  spoons,  are  found  in 
great  numbers,  a  large  proportion  of  which  must  have  come  from 
the  distant  Atlantic  or  gulf  coasts,  showing  not  only  intercourse 
with  the  coast  tribes,  but  intimate  and  extensive  trade  relations 
with  them.* 

There  is  also  ample  historical  evidence  of  intertribal  traffic  at  a 
very  early  period.  After  the  failure  of  ISTarvaez's  expedition  into 
Florida,  in  1528,  Cabeza  de  Yaca,  who  was  left  behind,  found  little 
difficulty  in  supporting  himself  as  a  trader  or  peddler  in  his  long 
circuitous  journey  from  Florida  to  Mexico.  He  reports  that  he 
gathered  and  exchanged  the  wares  of  the  country  and  the  coast 
flints,  skins,  mineral  paint,  naedicine,  conch-shells,  sea-beans,  and 
other  merchandise.! 

De  Soto  found  the  natives  at  the  Saline  Springs  of  Tulla, 
Arkansas,  making  salt,  which  was  "  made  into  small  cakes,  and 
vended  among  the  other  tribes  for  skins  and  mantles."  % 

La  Salle,  Marquette,  Hennepin,  and  Charlevoix  traveled  long 
distances  through  the  interior  of  the  Indian  country  with  little  or 
no  other  protection  or  introduction  than  the  calumet  or  pipe  of 
peace.  The  natives  were  a  trading  people,  and  as  De  Vaca  says, 
he  always  received  fair  treatment,  out  of  regard  for  "  his  com- 
modities." From  the  many  identities,  and  marked  resemblances 
found  in  the  images  and  pottery  forms  of  Arkansas,  Missouri,  and 
Tennessee,  there  is  but  little  doubt  that  the  native  traders  came 
from  the  ancient  focus  of  this  pottery  district  on  the  Mississippi, 

*  In  illustration  of  Indian  exchanges,  Schoolcraft  says,  "  he  saw,  at  the  foot  of 
Lake  Superior,  Indian  articles  ornamented  with  the  shining  white  Dentalium  eli- 
phanticum,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river." — Ancient  Monuments  (Squier 
and  Davis),  page  254. 

t  Kelation  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  translated  by  Buckingham  Smith,  page  85,  et  seq. 
New  York,  1871. 

'  t  History  of  Alabama  (Pickett).  Vol.  I,  page  70. 


THE    ANCIENT    HOUSES — ABORIGINAL    TRADE.  83 

near  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  river,  with  canoes  hxden  with  wares, 
up  the  Cumberland,  Tennessee,  and  Ohio  rivers.  Perhaps  the 
aristocratic  ancient  town  near  N^ashville,  whose  remains  have  re- 
cently been  unearthed,  was  a  colony  from  this  main  center.  Like 
some  of  the  Greek  colonies  that  settled  in  Italy,  it  surpassed  the 
parent  stock  in  some  of  its  manifestations  of  art. 

Father  Membre,  in  1681,  saw  a  fleet  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
canoes  at  one  of  the  towns  on  the  Mississippi  river.  Some  of 
them  were  forty  to  fifty  feet  long.* 

De  Soto  met  a  fleet  of  two  hundred  pirogues  or  large  canoes, 
manned  by  the  natives,  on  discovering  the  Mississippi.  "  It  was  a 
pleasing  sight,"  says  the  Portugese  narrator,  "  to  behold  these  wild 
savages  in  their  canoes,  which  were  neatly  made,  and  of  great  size, 
and  with  their  awnings,  colored  feathers,  and  waving  standards,  ap- 
peared like  a  fleet  of  galleys."  f  Armed  Indians,  carrying  shields 
made  of  bufi\\lo  hides,  sheltered  the  rowers,  while  others  stood  in 
battle  array  with  their  bows  and  arrows. 

That  these  native  fleets  could  assemble  upon  the  Mississippi, 
almost  without  warning,  is  an  indication  of  the  ease  with  which 
the  ancient  tribes  were  able  to  traverse  the  great  rivers,  and 
communicate  with  distant  sections,  either  in  their  wars  or  peaceful 
exchanges.  Bands  of  Iroquois  from  central  Xew  York  came  all 
the  way  down  the  tributaries  of  the  Ohio  in  their  light  canoes, 
and  up  the  winding  Cumberland,  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  pillag- 
ing and  burning  the  houses  of  the  less  warlike  Shawnees  near 
Nashville.  They  sometimes  pursued  the  Cherokees  and  Chickasaws 
to  the  banks  of  the  Tennessee  river.  They  came  west  with  La  Salle, 
and  drove  the  Illinois  tribes  beyond  the  Mississippi. 

Carver,  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  learned  from  the  Win- 
nebagos,  of  Wisconsin,  that  their  war  parties  sometimes  traveled  as 
far  to  the  south-west  as  New  Mexico,  "  the  land  of  the  Spaniards," 
and  that  it  required  months  to  make  the  journey. J     Similar  excur- 

"••■  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi  (Narrative  of  Father  Membre),  page  181. 

t  Portugese  Narrative,  C.  22 ;  Conquest  of  Florida  (Irving),  page  314. 

t  Carver's  Travels,  New  York,  1838,  page  42.     Du  Pratz  mentions  the  fact  that 


84  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

sions  or  migrations  were  doubtless  not  uncommon  in  the  prehistoric 
period. 

Pipes,  flints,  axes,  and  ornaments  of  stone  are  rarely  found  near 
their  original  beds.  Beautiful  pipes,  wrought  out  of  steatite,  por- 
phyry and  serpentine  from  East  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina, 
found  their  way  far  down  the  Mississippi  into  Louisiana,  and  into 
the  shell  heaps  of  Florida  and  Alabama.  Three  pipes,  of  the  well 
defined  north-west  coast  forms,  have  been  unearthed  in  JSTew  Eng- 
land. Plates  of  mica,  from  ISTorth  Carolina  and  Virginia,  are  found 
in  great  abundance  in  the  mounds  and  graves  of  the  Mississippi 
valley.  To  understand  the  ethnic  status  of  the  prehistoric  tribes, 
therefore,  and  to  clearly  comprehend  ancient  life  in  Tennessee,  these 
widely  extended  relations  should  be  fully  realized.  The  aborigines 
were  evidently  a  trading,  traveling,  warring,  and  migrating  race. 

We  are  told  by  Hubert  Bancroft  that  the  ancient  Mexican 
traders  made  long  journeys  to  distant  sections,  occupying  months 
of  time,  and  we  have  no  good  reason  for  supposing  that  either  the 
Toltecs,  the  Aztecs,  or  the  pueblo  tribes  were  wholly  ignorant  of  the 
vast  population  inhabiting  the  Mississippi  valley,  especially  as  the 
remains  found  occasionally  exhibit  traces  of  Mexican  and  pueblo 
culture.* 

one  of  the  Yazoo  Indians  of  Mississippi  (Montcacht-ape),  in  one  of  his  journeys  to 
the  Far  West,  reached  the  Pacific  coast,  and  returned  to  his  tribe  in  Mississippi 
after  an  absence  of  five  years. — History  of  Louisiana,  Vol.  II,  page  128.  London, 
1763. 

■;•:-  Herrera,  the  Spanish  historian,  describes  the  cargo  of  a  large  trading  canoe 
that  came  from  Yucatan,  at  the  time  of  Columbus,  to  one  of  the  islands  in  the  gulf, 
"forty  leagues"  distant  from  the  mainland;  showing  how  easily  Cuba  and  Florida 
could  be  reached  by  the  natives  of  Central  and  South  America. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA.  85 


CHi^F»TE]R    IV. 

INSCRIBED  STONES,  IMAGES,  IDOLS,  CRANIA. 

Ancient  Inscribed  Stones  Found  in  Tennessee — The  Sumner  County  Pictograph — 
Tlie  Riggs  Face  Bowl — Images  of  Clay — Stone  Idols — The  Troost  Idol — The 
Cradle  Board  Image — Crania  from  the  Graves  of  Tennessee — Ancient  Crania 
from  ^Missouri — Peruvian  Skulls — Pueblo  and  Cliff  Dwellers'  Skulls — Tables  of 
Measurement. 

One  of  the  surest  indications  that  the  state  of  ancient  society 
in  the  Mississippi  valley  was  essentially  rude  and  primitive  is  found 
in  the  fact  that  few  prehistoric  inscriptions  of  archselogical  value, 
or  picture  writings  of  interest,  have  been  discovered  within  this 
widely  extended  area.  None  have  been  found  approaching  the 
higher  grades  of  hieroglyphic  writings,  such  as  marked  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  Mayas  of  Central  America,  or  even  equaling  the  ruder 
Runic  characters  or  alphabet  of  the  ancient  Northmen. 

The  North  American  Indians  excelled  all  other  barbarous 
tribes  in  the  efficient  and  general  use  of  sign  language,  and  in  ex- 
pressing conceits,  recording  events,  and  conveying  information  by 
rude  markings  or  inscriptions;  yet  the  antiquarian  will  search  in 
vain  among  the  pictographs  and  inscriptions  that  illustrate  the 
large  volumes  of  Squier  and  Davis,  Catlin,  Schoolcraft,  or  the  more 
recent  valuable  publications  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  *  for  traces 
of  an  ancient  native  written  language,  or  decipherable  symbol  lan- 
guage. The  large  number  of  pictographs  and  inscriptions  illus- 
trated are  rarely  above  the  grade  of  the  rude  archaic  animal 
sketches  and  markings,  or  rock  carvings,  of  the  historic  tribes,  and 
are   of  comparatively  little    ethnic    value.     A    few    inscriptions   or 

*  In  the  Fourth  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  (Powell),  page  13,  will  be 
found  a  long  and  valualjle  illustrated  paper  by  Colonel  Garrick  Mallery  upon  the 
pictographs  of  the  North  American  Indians. 


86  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

pictures  of  a  higher  type  have  been  discovered.  The  Cincinnati 
tablet,*  the  figures  on  copper  from  the  Etowah  mound  in  Georgia, 
and  several  of  the  engraved  shell  figures  and  pictures  from  the 
mounds  of  Tennessee,  Georgia,  and  Missouri,  are  objects  of  much 
archseological  interest,  and  must  be  excepted  from  the  mass  of  ruder 
prehistoric  pictographs.  Although  these  expressions  of  art  are  es- 
sentially Indian  and  primitive,  they  point  to  a  state  of  society,  or 
of  local  or  individual  development,  in  certain  ancient  centers  of 
population,  a  degree  above  the  general  culture  status  of  the  his- 
toric tribes.  This  proof  is  positive,  and  must  be  accepted.  These 
evidences  of  ancient  culture  could  not  all  have  been  borrowed  or 
exotic.  They  do  not  indicate  a  state  of  society  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  ancestors  of  the  historic  tribes  in  the  natural  progress  of 
development,  nor  are  they  above  the  general  state  of  art  and  culture 
of  progressive  tribes  like  some  of  the  advanced  pueblo  villagers. 
They  merely  mark  the  highest  points  or  stages  of  culture  prob- 
ably reached  in  the  slow  processes  of  evolution,  and  suggest  that 
there  has  been  a  slight  decadence  since  the  dawn  of  history,  or  the 
best  prehistoric  period,  probably  resulting  from  wars,  migrations,  or 
other  natural  causes.  Illustrations  of  some  of  these  interesting 
objects  will  be  found  in  subsequent  chapters.  A  few  ancient  carv- 
ings or  inscriptions  upon  stone  of  considerable  interest  have  in  re- 
cent years  been  found  in  Tennessee. 

The  carefully  engraved  stone,  both  sides  of  which  are  fairly 
well  illustrated  in  Fig.  15,  w^as  found  some  years  ago  near  Peters- 
burg, in  Lincoln  county.  Middle  Tennessee,  and  is  now  in  the  col- 
lection of  the  Tennessee  Historical  Society.  The  stone  is  of  dark, 
hard,  and  compact  slate.  It  is  a  little  larger  than  the  illustration, 
and  bears  such  marks  of  age  and  use  that  there  can  be  no  question 

*  We  are  aware  that  the  genuineness  of  this  tablet  has  been  questioned.  We 
have  carefully  examined  the  original  and  investigated  its  history,  and  also  that  of 
the  two  ruder  Ohio  tablets  of  somewhat  similar  character.  We  have  known  Mr. 
Gest,  the  owner  of  the  Cincinnati  tablet,  many  years,  and  we  see  no  good  grounds 
to  doubt  that  it  is  a  genuine  prehistoric  relic. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA. 


87 


as  to  its  genuineness.*     The  ornamentation  engraved  upon  it  is  of 
the  familiar  Greek   key  or  classic   fret   pattern,   frequently  found 


Fig.  15. — Ornamented  "Banner  Stone"  (Lincoln  County,  Tennessee). 

among    Mexican    antiquities.     The    same   pattern,  in  more  regular 
forms,  ornaments  the  front  of  the  ancient  "  Governor's  House,"  at 


Fig.  16. — A  Vessel  op  Pottery  from  the  Moqui  Pueblo. 

Uxmal,  in  Central  America.     More  exact    examples    of  the    orna- 
mentation upon  this  stone  are,  however,  to  be  found  upon  the  an- 

*  It  was  presented  to  the  Tennessee  Historical  Society,  in  1883,  by  Mr.  R.  A. 
Parks,  an  intelligent  and  reliable  gentleman  of  Lynchburg,  Tennessee.  He  writes 
that,  "  it  was  found  in  the  sand  on  the  bank  of  a  small  stream  in  Lincoln  county, 
near  Petersburg,  by  the  children  of  the  Marshall  family." 


88  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

cient  pottery  from  the  Moqiii  pueblos  in  the  province  of  Tusayan, 
Arizona.  The  handsome  old  Moqui  vase  (Fig.  16)  is  ornamented  in 
patterns  almost  duplicating  the  lines  engraved  upon  this  stone.  It 
may  be  found  in  the  collection  of  the  ISTational  Museum,  with  many 
other  articles  of  pottery  of  similar  ornamentation  from  the  same 
province.* 

A  fine  specimen  of  a  higher  type  of  this  form  of  ornamentation 
is  presented  in  Fig.  17.  It  was  taken  from  a  fragment  of  very  an- 
cient pottery  found  in  Mexico,  and  shows  the  more  advanced  cult- 
ure of  the  Aztecs  or  Toltecs.f  This  rare  little  engraved  "  banner 
stone"  was  doubtless  long  worn  or  carried  as  an  ornament,  token, 


Fig.  17. — A  Fragment  of  Ancient  Mexican  Pottery. 

or  amulet,  or,  perhaps,  was  used  for  some  ceremonial  purpose.  It 
may  have  been  a  long-treasured  keepsake  of  the  Fatherland  in  the 
Far  West,  as  it  was  probably  an  importation,  centuries  a^o,  from 
the  Moqui  pueblo  section.  I^o  similar  tracery  or  ornamentation 
has  been  discovered  among  the  antiquities  of  Tennessee,  or  of  the 
Mississippi  valley,  so  far  as  we  can  learn.  It  establishes  with  con- 
siderable certainty  the  existence  of  intercourse  between  the  ancient 
inhabitants  of  Middle  Tennessee  and  the  tribes  of  the  pueblos,  evi- 
dently village  Indians  of  the  same  general  class. 

An  inscribed  stone  of  an  interesting  character  was  recently 

*  See  the  larger  illustration  of  this  vase  and  others  in  Reports  Bureau  of  Eth- 
nology, Vol.  IV,  pages  320-336. 

t  The  illustration  is  copied  from  Prehistoric  Man  (Wilson),  Vol.  II,  page  30. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA. 


89 


found  by  Geoi\s:;e  Wood,  a  colored  maii,  while  "digging  for  pots" 
in  the  large  aboriginal  cemetery  on  the  ^oel  farm,  near  ]^ashville. 
The  stone  is  a  sandstone,  yellowish-gray  in  color,  and  of  rather 
coarse  grain.  It  is  about  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  nearly  an 
inch  thick.  On  the  reverse  side,  it  is  hollowed  out  like  a  "  cup 
stone."  An  engraving  of  it,  representing  both  sides,  is  shown  in 
Fig.  18. 

The  inscription,  well  and  deeply  cut  into  the  hard  stone,  is  evi- 
dently ideographic,  and  a  painstaking  attempt  at  hieroglyphic  or 
sign  writing.     It  was  certainly  intended  to  have  some  special  signif- 


FiG.  18. — Inscribed  Stone  Found  near  Nashville.* 

icance,  or  to  record  some  specific  idea,  as  the  characters  are  not 
careless  incisions  or  markings.  It  may  have  represented  some  con- 
tract, or  totem,  or  memorial,  or  some  money  idea,  or  value. 

The  characters  happen  to  be  somewhat  similar  to  some  of  the 
letters  of  the  old  Phoenician  alphabet,  and  to  the  Runic  iuscriptions 
of  the  ancient  Scandinavians.  Dr.  M.  "W.  Dickinson,  in  his  valua- 
ble work  upon  American  Numismatics,  gives  a  number  of  illustra- 


*  Author's  collection.  The  unevenness  of  the  surface  rendered  it  impracticable 
to  present  a  photo-engraving  directly  from  a  photograph  of  the  stone  ;  but  no  one, 
upon  examining  it,  will  doubt  the  genuineness  of  this  antique.  We  obtained  it 
from  the  workman  the  day  it  was  found,  and  washed  away  the  clay  adhering  to  it. 


90  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

tions  of  small,  inscribed  disks  of  stone,  clay,  coal,  and  galena, 
in  form  somewhat  like  this  inscribed  stone,  objects  discovered 
by  him  in  exploring  the  mounds  of  the  lower  Mississippi  valley, 
and  which  he  designates  as  "  aboriginal  money "  of  the  mound 
building  tribes,*  A  few  small  disks  of  the  same  kind  have  been 
found  in  Tennessee.  Dr.  Dickinson  was  excellent  authority  upon 
this  general  subject,  but  we  do  not  find  it  considered  elsewhere,  and 
we  can  not  be  certain  that  these  little  "  discoidals "  were  used  as 
money. 

The  prehistoric  tribes  probably  had  no  medium  of  exchange 
corresponding  with  our  modern  idea  of  money  or  currency.  Even 
the  Aztecs  of  ancient  Mexico  had  no  regular  metallic  currency  in 
general  use.  Barter  and  interchange  of  commodities  constituted 
their  principal  method  of  exchange.  The  nearest  approach  to  a 
system  of  currency  among  the  historic  tribes,  w^as  the  use  of  wam- 
pum or  shell  money,  a  use  doubtless  originally  derived  from  the 
value  of  shells  or  shell  beads  as  ornaments.  The  unique  stone  il- 
lustrated, however,  is  of  interest  as  indicating  an  eftbrt  at  sign  writ- 
ing much  above  the  ordinary  types  of  Indian  inscriptions. 

Some  of  the  E^orth  American  Indians,  so  expert  in  conveying 
their  ideas  by  signs  and  sign  writing,  were  evidently  making  slow 
but  certain  progress  toward  a  written  alphabet.  . 

There  has  also  been  discovered,  in  Sumner  county,  Tennessee, 
near  the  stone  graves  and  mounds  of  Castalian  Springs,  a  valuable 
pictograph,  the  ancient  engraved  stone  illustrated  in  Plate  II,  which 
we  have  taken  the  liberty  to  entitle  A  Group  of  Tennessee  Mound 
Builders. 

This  engraved  stone,  the  property  of  the  Tennessee  Historical 
Society,  is  a  fiat,  irregular  slab  of  hard  limestone,  about  nineteen 
inches  long,  and  fifteen  inches  wide.  It  bears  every  evidence  of 
very  great  age.  A  plate  engraved  directly  from  a  photograph  of  it 
would  have  been  made  for  this  publication,  but  the  surface  of  the 
stone  was  uneven,  and  it  was  found  impossible  to  get  a  strong  pho- 

*  Dickinson's  American  Numismatics,  page  37. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,  'CRANIA.  91 

tograph  of  the  whole  picture  for  a  single  plate.  The  stone  was 
found  on  Rocky  creek,  in  Sumner  county,  and  was  presented,  with 
other  relics,  to  the  Tennessee  Historical  Society  about  twelve  years 
ago.  The  society,  at  that  time,  not  having  sufficient  room  to  ex- 
hibit its  collections,  the  stone  was  packed  awa}^  until  1886,  when  it 
was  placed  on  exhibition  at  the  new  "  Historical  Rooms,"  in  the 
Watkins  Institute,  in  E"ashville.  No  archaeologist,  upon  examin- 
ing it,  will  doubt  that  this  interesting  pictograph  in  stone  is  a  gen- 
uine antique. 

It  is  evidently  an  ideograph  of  significance,  graven  with  a 
steady  and  skillful  hand,  for  a  specific  purpose,  and  probably 
records  or  commemorates  some  important  treaty  or  public  or  tribal 
event.  It  seems  to  represent  a  time  of  general  congratulations, 
perhaps  some  aboriginal  Fourth  of  July!  Indian  chiefs,  fully 
equipped  with  the  insignia  of  office,  are  arrayed  in  fine  apparel. 
Two  leading  characters  are  vigorously  shaking  hands  in  a  confirma- 
tory way.  The  banner  or  shield,  ornamented  with  the  double 
serpent  emblem  and  other  symbols,  is,  doubtless,  an  important 
feature  of  the  occasion.  Among  the  historic  Indians,  no  treaty 
was  made  without  the  presence  or  presentation  of  the  belt  of  wam- 
pum. This,  the  well-dressed  female  of  the  group  appears  to  grasp 
in  her  hand,  perhaps  as  a  pledge  of  the  contract.  The  dressing 
of  the  hair,  the  remarkable  scalloped  skirts,  the  implements  used, 
the  waist-bands,  the  wristlets,  the  garters,  the  Indian  leggins  and 
moccasins,  the  necklace  and  breast-plates,  the  two  banners,  the  ser- 
pent emblem,  the  tattoo  stripes,  the  ancient  pipe — all  invest  this 
pictograph  with  unusual  interest. 

Mr.  Conant,  in  his  Footprints  of  Vanished  Races,  published 
in  1879  (page  94),  referring  to  the  mound  builders  of  South-east 
Missouri,  makes  the  following  statement:  "In  some  of  their 
human  effigies  do  we  find  the  manner  of  arranging  their  hair  dis- 
tinctly delineated,  and  we  may  yet  discover  those  which  shall 
furnish  us  with  correct  representations  of  their  mode  of  dress. 
Indeed,  I  have  seen  one  vessel  with  figures  of  men  rudely  painted 
in  outline  upon  its  sides,  who  were  clad  injiowinfj  garments  gathered 


92  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

hy  a  belt  around  the  ivaist  and  reaching  to  the  knees."     (The  italics 
are  used  to  call  attention  to  the  latter  part  of  the  statement.) 

Mr.  Conant's  prediction  is  fully  realized  in  this  pictograph. 
Here  are  portrayed,  evidently  with  considerable  correctness,  the 
dresses  and  figures  of  leading  personages  of  the  Stone  Grave  race, 
the  mound  builders  of  Tennessee,  as  they  appeared  upon  some  im- 
portant occasion.  Unfortunately,  the  faces  of  two  of  the  four 
upper  figures,  the  fanciful  hair  or  head  ornaments,  the  lower  shield 
and  some  other  details  are  partly  lost  by  the  disintegration  of  the 
stone,  owing  to  its  great  age.  Only  faint  outlines  can  now  be  seen. 
It  would  probably  have  been  wnser  to  have  made  no  attempt  to 
illustrate  these  portions  of  the  pictograph.  The  implements  or 
objects  in  the  hands  of  the  separate  figure  below  have  also  become 
somewhat  obscure,  but  the  pictograph,  as  it  now  appears,  has  been 
copied  from  the  original  stone,  with  truthful  expression  and  exact- 
ness of  details.  It  was  well  and  deeply  graven,  probably  with  some 
implement  of  quartz  or  flint  upon  the  softer  limestone  surface. 
The  aboriginal  art  was  even  slightly  superior  to  the  art  of  the 
copyist,  as  represented  in  the  illustration  presented.  Some  slight 
analogies  or  resemblances  to  the  figures  in  this  pictograph  are 
found  in  other  prehistoric  picture  writings  from  the  mounds. 

In  the  figures  on  copper  from  the  Etowah  mound  of  Georgia, 
illustrated  in  the  Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology, 
and  in  the  two  fine  shell  gorgets  in  the  same  report,  the  waist- 
bands and  garters  invariably  appear,  and  there  are  traces  of  the 
pointed  fashion  of  the  skirts.  The  back  hair-knot  is  frequently  ob- 
served on  the  pottery  heads,  and  shell  gorgets  from  the  stone 
graves,  and  may  be  seen  elegantly  arrayed  in  the  Etowah  plate 
figures.  The  rude  head  in  clay  (Fig.  19)  found  within  the  ancient 
earth-works,  near  Hickman,  Tennessee,  offers  an  illustration  of  two 
of  the  long  and  peculiarly  formed  back  hair-knots  in  the  stone 
picture.* 

Judge    Haywood,   in   describing    a   large    stone   idol  found  in 

*  This  illustration  is  from  Aboriginal  Remains  of  Tennessee  (Dr.  Jones),  page  63. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA. 


93 


Wilson  county,  Tennessee,  says  :  "  On  the  back  of  the  head  is  a 
large  projection,  so  shaped  as  to  show,  perhaps,  the  manner  of 
tying  and  wearing  the  hair."  * 

Fanciful  head-dresses  were  worn  by  all  Indians  upon  occasions 
of  ceremony,  from  the  eagle  phimes  of  the  wilder  tribes  to  the 
elaborate  feather  crowns  of  the  Aztec  cliiefs. 

One  of  the  branches  of  the  Cherokee  tribe  was  named  the 
family  of  the  "  Long  Hair."  This  was  the  badge  or  totem  of  the 
clan.f  Bartram  reports  that  the  women  among  the  southern  In- 
dians "made  diadems "|  for  the  men's  heads,  and  Parkman  tells  us 
that  the  northern   tribes  "  wore  their  hair  after  a  variety  of  gro- 


FiG.  19. — Pottery  Head,  with  Long  Hair  Knot. 


tesque  and  startling  fashions, "1|  a  statement  that  might  be  justly  ap- 
plied to  some  of  the  fashionable  head-dresses  of  more  civilized 
races. § 

The  neatly  dressed  female  in  the  picture  seems  content  with  a 
chignon  of  modern  style.  Her  prominence  upon  this  public  occa- 
sion, and  the  fact  that  she  seems  to  have  possession  of  the  belt  of 

wampum,  are  both  indications  of  progress  in  the  direction  of  civili- 

« 

*  Natural  and  Aboriginal  History  ot  Tennessee,  page  438. 
t  Ancient  Society  (Morgan),  page  164. 
t  Bartram's  Travels,  page  511.     London,  1792. 
II  The  Jesuits,  page  xxxiii. 

§  "Tufts  of  deer's  hair,  dyed  of  scarlet  color,  were  worn  as  head-dresses." Rela- 
tion of  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  page  121.     Paris,  1837. 


94 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


zation.  De  Soto  found  "  the  beautiful  young  Indian  princess, 
Xualla,"  ruling  over  the  province  of  Cofacheque,  on  the  Savannah 
river.*  The  tattoo  marks  on  the  faces  of  two  of  the  chief  fig- 
ures are  significant.  We  find,  from  a  series  of  rude  drawings  or 
"  counts "  of  the  Dakota  Indians,  illustrating  the  fourth  annual 
report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  (page  174),  that  the  principal 
chiefs  of  the  Dakotas  were  marked  by  three  tattoo  lines  of  paint 
across  their  cheeks ;  and  that,  in  the  Indian  picture  writings,  the 
holding  of  a  war  club  or  pipe  was  a  sign  of  authority,  and  indicated 


Fig.  20. — The  Eiggs  J'ace  Bowl  (One-third). 


that  these  special   chiefs  had  at  some  time   led  independent  war 
parties,  f 

According  to  the  interesting  pictograph  presented,  the  chiefs 
among  the  mound  builders  of  Tennessee  had  four  lines  of  paint,  or 
tattoo  marks,  on  their  faces  upon  occasions  of  ceremony.  The  prev- 
alence of  this  custom  among  the  pottery  makers  of  Tennessee  and 
Arkansas  may  also  be  established  by  testimony,  independently  of 
the  pictured  stone.  , 

*  Conquest  of  Florida  (Irving),  page  219. 

t  Pictographs  of  the  North  American  Indians  (Colonel  Garrick  Mallery),  page 
175.  The  Mandans,  who  have  been  mentioned  by  several  writers  as  probable  de- 
scendants of  some  of  the  mound  building  tribes,  are  a  branch  of  the  Dakota  or 
Sioux  tribe  of  Indians. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA.  95 

One  of  the  finest,  if  not  the  finest,  face  or  portrait  bowl  yet  dis- 
covered among  the  mound  graves  of  Arkansas,  and  well  illustrated 
in  Fig.  20,  as  will  be  observed,  is  strongly  marked  with  the  four 
tattoo  lines  upon  its  face,  thus  confirming  the  story  of  the  interesting 
pictograph  from  Sumner  county.  This  terra  cotta  bowl  was  re- 
cently discovered  in  or  near  a  mound  on  the  St.  Francis  river,  in 
Arkansas,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tyronza  river,  by  Mr.  C.  W. 
Riggs,  an  enthusiastic  mound  explorer,  who  kindly  furnished  us 
with  excell-ent  photographs  of  it,  from  which,  with  the  aid  of 
sketches  from  the  original  bowl,  these  illustrations  were  made.  It 
is  five  and  one-half  inches  high.  The  face  of  the  bowl  is  so  marked 
and  well  executed  that  one  is  astonished  at  its  life-like  appearance. 
Its  expression  is  indeed  so  natural  and  human  that  it  is  not  alto- 
gether agreeable.  In  color  the  face  is  a  light  clay,  probably  the  tint 
of  the  natural  clay  of  which  it  was  made.  The  rest  of  the  head  is 
stained  or  painted  red.  The  forehead  is  low,  but  prominent.  The 
eyes  small.  The  ears  are  finely  modeled.  The  lips,  which  are 
tinted  red,  are  parted,  as  if  about  to  speak.  What  a  history  this 
little  bowl  could  unfold,  if  permitted  to  tell  the  story  of  its  life!* 

Returning  to  the  pictograph,  it  will  be  observed  that  the  pipe 
in  the  lower  banner  is  of  the  familiar  square  pattern  often  found  in 
Tennessee,  and  illustrated  in  the  chapter  upon  pipes. 

Captain  Carver,  who  spent  three  years  traveling  through  the 

■•■■  The  writer  saw  this  fine  bowl  in  the  Riggs  collection,  at  the  Cincinnati  Cen- 
tennial Exhibition,  in  188S,  and  takes  pleasure  in  presenting  to  the  antiquarian  pub- 
lic probably  the  first  good  engraving  of  it.  It  is  now  in  the  Riggs  collection,  at  the 
Cincinnati  Art  Museum.  Mr.  Riggs  regarded  it  as  worth  more  than  the  entire  bal- 
ance of  his  pottery  collection  of  several  hundred  perfect  specimens.  He  called  the 
ancient  cemetery  from  which  it  was  taken  "The  Royal  Mound,"  as  it  appeared  to 
have  been  the  burial  place  of  persons  of  distinction  in  their  day  and  generation. 
Earth-works  embracing  about  twelve  acres  (about  the  average  area  of  our  Tennessee 
works)  inclosed  the  mound  group.  This  bowd,  well  marked  with  the  face  and  tattoo 
marks  of  some  distinguished  personage,  perhaps  belonged  to  the  aboriginal  set  of 
terra  cotta  of  some  old  chief.  The  physiognomy  of  this  ancient  gentleman,  how- 
ever, like  the  heads  and  faces  of  the  royal  Peruvians  and  Central  Americans,  ex- 
hibits no  special  marks  of  a  high  blooded  pedigree. 


96  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

interior  of  North  America,  1776-8,  says  the  pipe  "  was  used  as  an 
introduction  to  all  treaties,  as  a  flag  of  truce  is  among  Europeans." 
A  third  banner  or  shield  is  faintly  traced  upon  the  reverse  side  of 
the  stone  tablet.  They  seem  larger  than  ordinary  battle  shields, 
and  may  have  been  ceremoukil  shields  or  banners.  De  Soto  found 
a  native  chief,  the  haughty  Tuscaluza,  using  a  large  ornamented 
banner.* 

The  double  serpent  emblem  or  ornament  upon  the  banner  may 
have  been  the  badge  or  totem  of  the  tribe,  clan,  or  family  that  oc- 
cupied the  extensive  eaKh-works  at  Castalian  Springs  in  Sumner 
county,  near  where  the  stone  was  found.  The  serpent  was  a 
favorite  emblem  or  totem  of  the  Stone  Grave  race  of  Tennessee, 
and  is  one  of  the  common  devices  engraved  on  the  shell  gorgets 
taken  from  the  ancient  cemeteries,  as  will  be  observed  in  subse- 
quent illustrations.  A  serpent  totem  in  pottery,  found  in  David- 
son county,  but  near  the  border  of  Sumner  county,  is  also  illus- 
trated in  the  next  chapter.  The  circles  or  sun  symbol  ornaments 
on. the  banners  and  dresses,  are  the  ligures  most  frequently  graven 
on  the  shell  gorgets  found  near  JSTashville.  Father  Membre  in- 
formed us  that  the  natives  on  the  Red  river,  in  1686,  wore  "  gala 
dresses,"  ornamented  with  "  painted  suns,"  and  that  they  worshiped 
the  8un,f  and  when  Bartram  visited  the  southern  Indians,  in  1773, 
he  reported  that  the  Indian  women  "  make  moccasins,  spin  and 
weave  curious  belts  and  diadems  for  men,  fabricate  lace,  fringe, 
embroider  and  decorate  their  apparel."  X 

Hubert  Bancroft  tells  us  that  the  ISTavajos  and  Pimas,  village 
Indians  of  Kew  Mexico  and  Arizona,  wore  girdles  around  their 
waists,  neat  moccasins,  leggins,  aprons,  and  short  petticoats  of  deer 

*  "  Beside  him  (Tuscaluza)  was  bis  standard  bearer,  wbo  bore  on  the  end  of  a 
lance  a  dressed  deer-skin,  stretched  out  to  the  size  of  a  buckler.  It  was  a  j^ellow 
color,  traversed  by  three  blue  stripes.  This  was  the  great  banner  of  this  warrior 
chieftain."— Conquest  of  Florida  (Irving),  page  256.  Shields  of  wood,  skin,  and 
hides  were  used  by  the  natives.— History  of  Alabama  (Pickett),  Vol.  I,  page  58. 

t  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi  (Shea),  pages  217,  228. 

t  Bartram's  Travels,  page  511.     London,  1792. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA.  97 

skins,  and  necklaces  of  beads  and  shell-work.*  We  are  also  told 
that  belts  and  garters  were  a  specialty  of  Navajo  manufacture, f  all 
indicating  that  the  dresses  of  the  figures  on  the  engraved  stone 
resemble  the  dresses  of  the  old  southern  Indians  and  the  village  In- 
dians of  the  Far  West. 

The  details  of  this  interesting  pictograph,  and  the  location  in 
which  it  was  found,  clearly  identify  it  as  a  relic  of  the  Stone  Grave 
race.  It  is  entirely  in  harmony  with  our  knowledge  of  the  race 
derived  from  other  sources.  It  is  also  in  harmony  with  the  gen- 
eral views  expressed  elsewhere  in  this  volume  as  to  the  culture 
status  of  this  ancient  race.  While  it  presents  a  true  picture  of  In- 
dian life  in  its  rude  and  barbaric  state,  its  details,  and  the  art  which 
engraved  it,  indicates  a  status  slightly  above  that  of  the  historic 
Indians  of  the  early  frontier.  We  doubt  whether  any  inscribed 
stone  of  more  archaeological  value  has  been  discovered  among  the 
prehistoric  remains  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  the  disintegration  of  the  stone  has  partly  obliterated  some  of  the 
outlines  of  the  faces  and  heads.  Like  the  stone  idol  types,  the  faces 
are  too  rudely  executed  to  be  of  ethnic  value,  yet  prehistoric  picto- 
graphs  are  so  rare  north  of  Mexico,  that  all  their  details  are  of 
interest. 

The  images  and  effigy  vessels  of  clay,  from  the  stone  graves  of 
Tennessee  and  the  burial  mounds  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  are, 
also,  among  the  most  interesting  antiques  yet  discovered.  They 
call  back  to  life  the  personalty  of  the  old  mound  builders  more  viv- 
idly than  any  other  remains.  While  they  can  not  be  regarded  as 
presenting  individual  or  exact  types  of  this  ancient  race,  some  of  the 
faces  are  so  marked  and  expressive  that  they  must  be  at  least  par- 
tial imitations  or  reproductions  of  the  lineaments  and  features  be- 
fore the  eyes  or  in  the  mind  of  the  native  artisans  who  made  them. 
It  is  remarkable  that  they  represent  no  uniform  or  particular  type. 
The  varieties  of  features  and  expressions  are,  indeed,  as  great  as  one 

*  Native  Races  (Bancroft),  Vol.  IV,  pages  531,  532. 
t  Bureau  of  Ethnology  Report,  Vol.  II,  page  434. 

7 


98 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


would  observe  along  the  streets  of  a  metropolitan  city.  Noses, 
lioman,  plebeian,  and  Ethiopian,  are  all  represented.  Features  of 
almost  Caucasian  regularity,  the  high  cheek  bones  of  the  Indian, 
heavy  African  features,  foreheads  high  and  low,  close  fitting  caps, 
and  high  pointed  hats,  may  all  be  noticed  among  the  characteristics 
of  these  statuettes  of  clay.* 

A  group  from  the  author's  collection,  all  found  in  the  ancient 


Fig.  21. — Terra  Cotta  Head,  from  Cemetery  near  Nashville. 

cemeteries  near  Il^ashville  (one-third  natural  diameters  or  sizes),  is 
presented  as  the  frontispiece  of  this  volume.  It  is  engraved  by  the 
"  Moss  process,"  directly  from  a  photograph  of  the  objects,  and 
is,  therefore,  an  exact  and  truthful  presentation  of  these  images.  It 
does  not  give  the  full  strength  of  some  of  the  faces  and  outlines, 
owino-  to  their  light  color,  but  it  is  a  faithful  reproduction  of  the 

*  Charnay  reports,  as  a  remarkable  fact,  the  great  variety  of  types  of  faces  and 
features  in  the  terra  cotta  figures  found  among  ancient  Mexican  remains. — Ancient 
Cities  of  the  New  World,  page  132. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA. 


99 


photograph.  The  clay  paste  of  which  they  were  made,  as  will  be 
observed,  is  of  different  colors.  The  majority  of  them  are  reddish- 
brown.  Some  are  of  a  light  cream  or  clay  color ;  and,  occasionally, 
one  is  found  of  a  rich  and  finely  polished  surface,  nearly  black. 
Like  most  of  the  earthenware  from  the  graves,  the  clay  paste  has 
been  mixed  and  tempered  with  pounded  shells  from  the  rivers,  but  it 
is  usually  finely  ground  and  well  burned.  A  front  view  of  the  lit- 
tle dark  head  in  the  upper  line  of  the  frontispiece  is  shown  in  Fig. 
21.     It  is  one  of  the  best  and  hardest  pieces  of  ware,  as  well  as  one 


Fig.  22. — Female  Head,  from  Cemetery  near  Nashville. 


of  the  best  specimens  of  art,  found  in  the  Noel  cemetery.  The  il- 
lustration does  not  quite  equal  the  original,  either  in  outlines  or  ex- 
pression. The  light  female  head,  on  the  upper  line  of  the  frontis- 
piece, is  presented  in  profile  in  Fig.  22.  The  photo-engraving  does 
not  do  justice  to  it,  owing  to  its  light  color.  In  fact,  neither  of  the 
pictures  fully  illustrates  the  dignity  and  grace  of  the  original.  The 
head  belongs  to  an  image  or  efligy  vessel,  and  the  hole,  through 
which  the  string  was  passed  to  hang  or  carry  it,  may  be  observed  at 
the  back  of  the  neck.  The  holes  for  the  earrings  may  also  be  seen, 
and  a  curious  little  loop  or  hole  over  the  forehead,  possibly  intended 
to  represent  some  custom  of  wearing  a  ring  or  ornament  there. 
This  fine  female  head  was  obtained  from  an  ancient  cemetery,  on 


100  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

the  Byser  farm,  ou  White's  creek,  about  five  miles  north  of  ISTash- 
viile.* 

The  square  crown  or  ornament  rising  to  a  point  in  a  series  of 
layers  on  the  large  light  head  in  the  frontispiece  was  a  favorite  head 
dress  of  the  Stone  Grave  race.  We  have  not  observed  it  on  the 
pottery  heads  from  other  sections.     It  was,  doubtless,  copied  from 


Fig    23. — Terra  Cotta  Image,  from  Cemetery  near  Nashville. 

the  fashions  of  the  times,  in  the  Cumberland  valley,  and  is  not  un- 
like some  of  the  modern  conceits  of  the  white  race. 

The  rather  rudely  engraved  figure  (No.  23)  will  be  also  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  statuettes  of  the  frontispiece.  He  bears  the 
historic  name  of  "  Sitting  Bull "  in  our  catalogue.  The  face  of  the 
original  in  its  characteristics  is  of  a  marked  red  Indian  type.     The 

*  It  was  kindly  presented  to  the  author  by  Mrs.  J.  M.  Leech,  of  Nashville. 
There  was  a  large  cemetery  on  this  farm,  and  a  sepulchral  mound,  with  layers  of 
graves  three  or  four  deep,  from  which  we  obtained  a  number  of  fine  relics;  but,  like 
most  of  the  burial  grounds  near  Nashville,  no  evidences  of  military  or  defensive 
works  remain. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA.  101 

next  figure  on  bis  left  we  call  "  Mrs.  Sitting  Bull,"  as  both  were 
found  in  tbe  same  grave,  and  appear  to  bave  been  the  work  of  the 
same  aboriginal  artist.  The  two  smallest  images  in  the  frontispiece 
are  solid,  and  may  have  been  toys  or  charms;  the  smallest — the 
tiny  little  fellow  at  the  end— being  quite  perfect,  but  only  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  high.  The  rest  of  the  figures  are  hollow, and  all 
have  holes  in  the  backs  of  the  heads,  and  may  have  been  used  as 
vessels  or  for  some  purposes  useful  as  well  as  ornamental. 

Plate  III  is  a  reproduction  directly  from  the  photograph,  pre- 
senting difterent  views  of  some  of  the  images  of  the  frontispiece 
group,  with  others,  that  the  reader  may  have  a  better  idea  of  these 
interesting  objects.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  dark  figure  front- 
ing on  the  upper  line  has  a  contracted  forehead,  and  features  some- 
what resembling  the  Ethiopian  type.  This  resemblance  is  much 
stronger  in  the  original,  and  invests  this  unique  image  with  special 
interest.  The  owl  or  bird-shaped  vessel,  with  the  well-painted 
feathers  (Plate  III),  was  taken  from  a  grave  in  the  ISToel  cemetery. 
A  similar  one,  of  finely  polished  surface  and  better  burned  ware, 
was  dug  up  by  Prof.  H.  H.  Wright,  of  Fisk  University,  in  the  same 
cemetery.  Prof.  Cj^rus  Thomas,  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology, 
recently  exhibited  a  handsomely  painted  one  to  the  writer,  of  the 
same  form,  found  in  East  Tennessee. 

The  ancient  graves  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas  have  also  fur- 
nished a  number  of  similar  figures,*  and  types  almost  identical  of 
light  clay,  and  with  the  same  feather  marks,  are  to  be  seen  among 
the  modern  pottery  of  the  Zuni  Indians  of  the  pueblos. f  A  well- 
formed  owl,  carved  out  of  hard  stone,  and  about  four  inches  high, 
was  found  within  the  mound  works,  near  Saundersville,  in  Sumner 
county,  Tennessee.  Nearly  all  the  images  and  efiigy  vessels  of  light 
clay  were  probably  orignally  painted  or  decorated  in  various  colors, 
but  the  coloring  has  faded,  or  become  very  indistinct. 

It  will  be  observed  that  a  number  of  these  statuettes  are  hunch- 

*  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Vol.  IV,  page  422. 

t  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Vol.  IV,  pages  364,  365. 


102 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


backs.  This  is  also  a  characteristic  of  many  of  the  clay  figures 
representing  the  human  form  found  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas. 
The  hump  is  so  large,  so  invariably  of  the  same  form,  and  so  com- 
mon a  feature,  that  there  must  have  been  some  special  design  or 
object  in  its  use,  but  we  have  not  been  able  to  discover  it. 

The  humps  are  generally  beaded  or  ornamented,  perhaps  in 
imitation  of  vertebrse. 

The  two  outside  images  on  the  upper  line  of  Plate  III  are 
solid,*  but  nearly  all  the  large  images  are  hollow,  and  have  open- 
ings at  the  backs  of  the  heads,  as  if  used  for  bottles  or  other  useful 
purposes.  Possibly,  they  may  have  contained  some  kind  of  pre- 
historic "  Worcestershire    sauce,"   or  aboriginal  vinegar,   or  other 


Fig.  24. — Fragments  in  Terra  Cotta  (Two-thirds). t 


luxuries  of  the  ancient  cuisine.  They  are  generallj^  called  "  idols." 
It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  they  should  be  molded  into  incon- 
venient human  forms  for  use  as  ordinary  bottles  or  vases ;  yet  the 
fancy  for  the  grotesque  and  for  animal  forms  was  so  strong  among 
the  ancient  races  of  America,  that  convenience  of  use  was  probably 
frequently  sacrificed  to  gratify  the  desire  for  these  peculiar  forms. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  pottery  used  by  the  ancient  Peruvians 
was  of  grotesque  and  animal  forms.  This  was  also  a  characteristic 
of  ancient  Pueblo  and  Mexican  pottery.  These  quaint  figurines  of 
terra-cotta  found  in  the  stone  graves  of  Tennessee  vary  from  about 

*  The  larger  one  (found  near  Nashville)  is  from  the  fine  collection  of  the  Ten- 
nessee Historical  Society.  The  smaller  one  is  the  property  of  Mrs.  James  L.  Gaines, 
of  Nashville,  and  was  found  in  West  Tennessee.  The  rest  are  in  the  author's  col- 
lection, and  were  taken  from  the  Noel  cemetery. 

t  Author's  collection. 


^«as«*-..  • 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA.  103 

an  inch  to  a  foot  in  height.  Illustrations  of  their  various  and 
peculiar  forms  might  be  multiplied  almost  indefinitely.  The  large 
hand  and  foot  in  well  burned  clay  (Fig.  24),  found  in  Stewart 
county,  indicate  that  some  of  these  images  must  have  been  several 
times  larger  than  any  complete  pottery  figures  yet  discovered,  and 
that  they  were  probably  well-modeled. 

More  images  or  idols  of  stone  have  also  been  found  within  the 
limits  of  Tennessee  than  in  any  other  state  or  section  north-east  of 
Mexico.  Colonel  Charles  C.  Jones,  of  Georgia,  says  that  "  Tennes- 
see, above  all  her  sister  states,  seems  to  be  most  prolific  of  them."  * 
While  we  can  not  be  certain  that  any  of  these  images  were  wor- 
shiped as  idols,  it  is  believed  that  they  must  have  been  in  some  way 
connected  with  religious  or  sacred  ceremonies,  or  have  been  used  as 
part  of  the  religious  machinery  of  the  ancient  native  priests  or  medi- 
cine men.  It  does  not  seem  probable  that  so  much  labor  would  have 
been  expended  upon  these  large  and  elaborately  wrought  figures 
of  stone  for  purposes  of  mere  ornament  or  amusement.  They  are 
ruder  than  most  of  the  large  stone  images  found  in  Mexico  and 
Central  America,  yet  the  latter  are  usually  of  the  same  coarse, 
clumsy,  and  grotesque  characters,  and  often  so  similar  to  our  Ten- 
nessee images,  that  we  are  struck  with  the  resemblance.  "With  the 
analogy  of  idol  worship  in  these  countries  before  us,  we  think 
there  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  the  large  images  of  stone  found 
here  were  worshiped  or  venerated  as  sacred  objects,  or  used  in  some 
form  of  religious  service. 

Three  of  the  larger  class  of  stone  images  or  idols  are  illustrated 
in  Plate  IV  by  the  photo-mechanical  process,  and  are,  therefore, 
more  accurately  presented  m  the  picture  than  by  any  description  we 
could  give  of  them.  The  little  figure  on  the  left  is  an  image  in  clay 
of  a  child  bound  to  its  cradle  or  hanging  board,  found  in  a  stone  grave 
of  the  ISToel  cemetery.  It  will  be  more  fully  described  hereafter. 
The  three  idols  are  in  the  collection  of  the  Tennessee  Historical 
Society.     They  are  of  gray  sandstone,  and  are  from  twelve  to  thir- 

*  Antiquities  of  Southern  Indians,  page  436. 


104 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


teen  inches  in  height.  The  image  on  the  left  is  from  Trousdale 
county,  the  center  one  was  found  by  Dr.  Frost,  of  ISTashville,  in 
Williamson  county,  and  the  one  on  the  right  is  from  Smith  county; 
all  within  the  general  section  occupied  by  the  Stone  Grave  race  in 
Middle  Tennessee.  A  large  and  well  formed  female  head,  of  dark- 
gray  sandstone,  doubtless  belonging  to  a  similar  image,  was  plowed 
up  near  the  earth-works  and  stone  graves  of  Castalian  Springs 
(Sumner  county),  in  the  summer  of  1888,  and  is  now  in  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.     These  "  idols  "  are  usually  "  surface  finds,"  but 


Fig.  25. — Stone  Head  Found  near  Clarksville  (Front  and  Profile   Views.)"* 

most  of  them  have  been  discovered  within  or  near  the  stone  grave 
settlements.  Dr.  W.  M.  Clark,  of  Nashville,  found  one  weighing 
twenty-seven  and  one-half  pounds,  in  a  grave  near  Nashville,  lying 
beside  a  large  skeleton, f 

Images  and  idols  of  stone  and  clay  are  found  in  great  numbers 
in  the  ancient  graves  of  Mexico  and  Central  America,  as  we  learn 
from  Hubert  Bancroft,  Charnay,  and  others. ^  Their  use  as  objects 
of  worship  in  these  countries  is  amply  authenticated. 

*  Johnson  collection,  Nashville, 
t  Smithsonian  Report,  1877,  page  276. 

X  Native  Races,  Vol.  IV,  page  385 ;  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  Charnay, 
page  181. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDuLS,    CRANIA.  105 

The  head  of  a  large  image  of  marble  or  crystalline  limestone, 
illustrated  in  Figure  25,  was  found  by  Mr.  H.  L.  Johnson,  in  1887, 
in  a  mound  on  the  Wallace  farm,  near  Clarksville,  Tennessee.  The 
head  had  been  broken  from  its  body.  The  latter  could  not  be 
found,  though  diligent  search  was  made  for  it.  The  face  was 
also  considerably  injured.  The  outlines  of  the  head  show  very 
clearly  the  flattened  or  vertical  occiput,  a  distinguishing  character- 
istic of  the  crania  of  the  Stone  Grave  race,  the  transverse  or 
parietal  diameter  being  fully  as  great  as  the  longitudinal.*  The 
features  of  the  face  are  of  a  heavy  Ethiopian  cast,  somewhat  similar 
to  those  of  the  dark  image  in  Plate  Ill.f 

The  strong  peculiar  lines  across  the  face  were  probably  intended 
to  represent  tattoo  marks,  or,  possibly,  wrinkles.  Similar  marks  are 
found  on  the  faces  of  some  of  the  fine  Ohio  and  Illinois  stone  pipes, 
and  also  on  the  face  of  the  figure  engraved  on  the  fine  shell  gorget 
from  Missouri,  illustrated  in  Chapter  IX. 

The  hood  or  head  cap  resembles  the  head-dress  of  many  of  the 
clay  images,  and  of  the  idol  in  the  center  in  Plate  IV.  The  original 
head,  nearly  life  size,  we  have  had  carefully  photographed  and  en- 
graved, that  archaeologists  may  have  the  benefit  of  the  type  in  con- 
sidering the  characteristics  of  the  ancient  race  inhabiting  the  Cum- 
berland valley. 

One  of  the  finest  stone  images  discovered  in  Tennessee  was 
plowed  up,  in  1845,  by  Mr.  Hartsfield,  within  the  mound  works 
about  eight  miles  north  of  Paris,  in  Henry  county.]:  Its  face  (front 
and  profile)  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  26.  The  features  are  well  formed, 
strong,  and  expressive.  It  was  carved  out  of  compact  white  fluor- 
spar, a  mineral   unknown  in  this  portion  of  the   Mississippi  valley. 

•■'■  The  ancient  Egyptian  sculptures  showed  the  forms  of  the  heads  of  the  succes- 
sive races  that  peopled  Lower  Egypt. 

t  According  to  Biart,  who  writes  very  intelligently  concerning  the  ancient  Mexi- 
cans, the  Aztecs  were  a  "  flat  nosed  "  race. — The  Aztecs  (Biart),  page  46. 

t  The  illustration  aud  description  are  from  Aboriginal  Remains  of  Tennessee 
(Jones),  page  130. 


106 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


The  head  only  is  now  preserved,  the  image  having  been  broken  and 
partly  destroyed  by  fire.     It  offers  another  illustration  of  the  va- 


FiG.  26. — Head  of  Stone,  from  Henry  County  (One-fourth). 

riety  of  types  of  faces  found   among  the  ancient  remains  in  Ten- 
nessee. 

The   stone  idol,  rather  rudely  represented  in   Fig.  27,  was  dis- 
covered in  a  cave  on  the  bank  of  the  Holston  river,  near  Strawberry 


Fig.  27. — Stone  Idol  (Knox  County). 

Plains,  in  Knox  county,  Tennessee.     It  is  composed  of  crystalline 
limestone,  and  was  evidently  made  out  of  one  of  the  large  stalactites 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA. 


107 


of  the  cave.     Dr.  Joseph  Jones  was  of  opinion   that  the  cave  was 
used  as  a  place  of  worship,* 

A  number  of  stone  images  have  been  discovered  in  Smith 
county,  Tennessee.  The  line  specimen  from  that  county,  repre- 
sented in  Fig.  28,  has  unfortunately  been  burned  and  destroyed.  It 
belonged  to  the  collection  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Myer,  who  kindly  sent  us 
good  photographs  of  it,  from  which  we  have  had  the  illustrations 


Fig.  28. — Stone  Idol  (Smith  County,  Tennessee).! 


engraved,  in  order  to  preserve  a  likeness  of  it.     It  was  plowed  up 
in  a  field  some  years  ago. 

Traces  of  the  garments  upon  the  body  are  sometimes  to  be 
found  upon  the  images  of  clay.  The  hands  of  the  clay  figures  are 
also  frequently  found  in  the  same  position.  The  holes  in  the  back 
of  the  head  were  evidently  made  for  suspension.     Similar  holes  are 


The  illustration  and  description  are  from  Aboriginal  Remains  (Jones),  page 


128. 


t  W.  E.  Myer  collection. 


108  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

found  upon  the  back  of  the  hollow  clay  images.  The  stone  idol 
probably  hung  by  a  cord  passed  through  the  upper  hole,  in  order  to 
keep  it  in  a  vertical  position.     It  was  about  fifteen  inches  high. 

Haywood  and  other  early  writers  record  interesting  accounts 
of  similar  images  discovered  by  the  pioneer  settlers.  Some  were 
"  surface  finds,"  others  were  found  in  caves,  or  within  the  mounds 
or  mound  works.* 

*  In  the  beginning  of  this  century,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  presented  with  two 
"Indian  busts,"  which  were  unearthed  by  some  laborers  who  were  excavating  along 
th.e  bank  of  the  Cumberland  river,  near  Palmyra.  They  are  described  thus:  "  The 
human  form  extends  to  the  middle  of  the  body,  and  the  figures  are  nearly  of  the 
natural  size.  The  lineaments  are  strongly  marked,  and  such  as  are  peculiar  to  the 
copper  colored  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  America.  The  substance  is  extremely  hard. 
It  has  not  been  ascertained  whether  they  are  idols  or  only  images  of  distinguished 
men.  It  will  be  an  interesting  object  of  research  for  antiquarians  to  discover  who 
were  the  ancestors  of  the  jjresent  Indians  capable  of  executing  such  a  good  resem- 
blance of  the  human  head,  face,  neck,  and  shoulders." — Antiquities  of  Southern  In- 
dians (C.  C.  Jones),  page  435. 

Judge  Haywood,  the  early  historian  of  Tennessee,  also  gives  the  following  ac- 
count of  an  antique  idol :  "  Upon  the  top  of  a  mound  at  Bledsoe's  Lick,  in  Sumner 
county,  Tennessee,  some  years  prior  to  1823,  was  plowed  up  an  image  made  of  sand- 
stone. On  one  cheek  was  a  mark  resembling  a  wrinkle,  passing  perpendicularly  up 
and  down  the  cheek.  On  the  other  cheek  were  two  similar  mark's.  The  breast  was 
that  of  a  female,  and  prominent.  The  face  was  turned  obliquely  up  toward  the 
heavens.  The  palms  of  the  hands  were  turned  upward  before  the  face,  and  at  some 
distance  from  it,  in  the  same  direction  that  the  face  was;  the  knees  were  drawn  near 
together,  and  the  feet,  with  the  toes  toward  the  ground,  were  separated  wide 
enough  to  admit  of  the  body  being  seated  between  them.  The  attitude  seemed  to 
be  that  of  adoration.  The  head  and  upper  part  of  the  forehead  were  represented  as 
covered  with  a  cap  or  miter,  or  bonnet,  from  the  lower  part  of  which  came  horizon- 
tally a  brim,  from  the  extremities  of  which  the  cap  extended  upward  conically. 
The  color  of  the  image  was  that  of  a  dark  infusion  of  copper.  If  the  front  of  the 
image  were  placed  to  the  east,  the  countenance,  obliquely  elevated,  and  the  up- 
lifted hands  in  the  same  direction,  would  be  toward  the  meridian  sun." — Natural 
and  Aboriginal  History  of  Tennessee,  pages  123,  124. 

Haywood  describes  another  image,  dug  up  on  the  McGilliam  farm,  on  Fall 
creek,  in  Wilson  county,  as  follows :  "  The  figure  is  cut  out  of  a  hard  rock,  of  what 
kind  Mr.  Rucker  could  not  determine.  It  was  designed  for  a  female  statue.  The 
legs  were  not  drawn.  It  only  extended  a  little  below  the  hips.  It  is  fifteen  inches 
long,  and  thick  in  proportion.     It  has  a  flat  head,  broad  face,  a  disproportionately 


INSCKIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA. 


109 


The  little  head  of  sandstone,  nearly  two  inches  high  (Fig  29), 
was  recently  found  by  Mr.  John  Blunkall,  in  a  stone  grave  cemetery 
a  few  miles  west  of  Nashville.  We  present  back  and  front  views  of 
it,  as  the  cap  and  dressing  of  the  hair  are  quite  interesting.  A  wide 
band  or  tassel  seenis  to  fall  from  the  back  of  the  cap  or  head-dress. 

Dr.  Gerard  Troost,  the  learned  geologist  of  Tennessee,  also  de- 
scribed a  number  of  Tennessee  images  and  idols.  One  of  these 
images  of  sandstone  is  now  in  the  fine  archaeological  collection  of 
Mr.  A.  E.  Douglass,  at  the  Museum  of  Natural   History,  in   New 


Fig.  29. — Small  Stone  Head  (R.  A.  Halley  Collection). 

York  City.  In  its  general  form  and  appearance,  it  resembles  the 
image  on  the  right  of  Plate  IV.  Haywood,  Dr.  Troost,  Dr.  Ram- 
sey, and  Dr.  Jones  all  report  evidences  of  the   existence  of  phallic 

long  aquiline  nose,  low  forehead,  thiek  lips,  and  short  neck.  The  chin  and  cheek 
bones  are  not  prominent,  but  far  otherwise.  On  the  back  of  the  head  is  a  large  pro- 
jection, so  shaped  as  to  show,  perhaps,  the  manner  of  tying  and  wearing  the  hair. 
(See  Historical  Society  pictograph.)  The  nipples  are  well  represented,  though  the 
breasts  are  not  sufficiently  elevated  for  a  female  of  maturity.  The  hands  are  resting 
on  the  hips,  the  fingers  in  front,  and  the  arms  akimbo ;  around  the  back  and  above 
the  hips  are  two  parallel  lines,  cut,  as  is  supposed,  to  represent  a  zone  or  belt.  The 
ears  project  at  right  angles  from  the  head,  with  holes  through  them.  It  was  found 
a  few  inches  beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth.  No  mounds  are  near,  but  an  exten- 
sive burying  ground  of  great  antiquity."— Natural  and  Aboriginal  History  of  Ten- 
nessee, pages  162,  1G3.  Some  of  the  pottery  images  are  marked  with  two  belts  or 
parallel  lines  across  the  back  above  the  hips,  like  this  stone  image. 


110 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


rites  or  worship  in  ancient  Tennessee.  In  some  of  the  images  and 
objects  discovered,  the  membrum  generationis  is  prominent.  The 
latter  is  sometimes  found  separately  carved  or  molded  with  much 
labor  and  skill  in  stone  and  clay.* 

The  most  interesting  image  from  Tennessee  described  by  Dr. 
Troostf  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  30. 


Fig.  30. — Image  Found  in  a  Sea  Shell. 


It  represents  a  small,  nude  human  figure  in  clay  in  a  large 
tropical  shell  (Cassis  flammea),  from  which  the  interior  whorls  and 
column,  and  the  front  have  been  removed,  to  form  the  shrine  or 
sanctuary  within  which  the  image  was  placed.  The  point  of  the 
shell  was  also  cut,  or  ground  off,  to  form  a  pedestal  for  it  to  stand 
upon.  The  image  occupied  its  place  in  this  large  shell  when 
plowed  up  in  the  Sequatchie  valley. 

■■•■"  Dr.  Troost  had  in  his  collecticfn  a  number  of  carefully  carved  representations 
of  the  male  organ  of  generation.  Similar  objects  have  been  found  in  Georgia  and 
other  adjacent  states. — Antiquities  of  Southern  Indians  (C.  C.  Jones),  page  439; 
Aboriginal  Remains  of  Tennessee  (J.  Jones),  page  135. 

t  Transactions  of  the  American  Ethnological  Society,  Vol.  I,  pages  355-365. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA.  Ill 

Tliis  curious  relic  presents  evidence  of  some  value  that  tlie 
ancient  inhabitants  of  Tennessee  were  addicted  to  the  worship  of 
idols  or  images,  or  regarded  these  objects  with  special  veneration; 
and  the  presence  of  tlie  large  number  of  figures  of  stone  would 
seem  conclusive  on  this  point.  It  is  certain  that  the  ancient  Mexi- 
cans and  Central  Americans  worshiped  similar  objects,  some  of 
them  equally  rude.  Images  of  stone  and  little  earthenware  figures, 
like  the  rude  idols  of  Mexico,  have  also  been  found  in  the  graves  of 
the  pueblo  districts  and  other  sections  north  of  Mexico.* 

According  to  the  testimony  of  Adair,  Bartram,  and  Timber- 
lake,  the  Cherokees  and  most  of  the  modern  tribes  of  southern 
Indians  were  not  given  to  idolatry.  Some  of  the  southern  tribes 
venerated  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  other  material  divinities,,  and 
nearly  all  Indians  appeared  to  have  some  general,  but  rather  ob- 
scure, conceptions  of  a  Great  Spirit,  and  "  a  happy  hunting  ground" 
in  a  future  world. f 

It  was  the  custom  of  all  American  aboriginal  tribes,  savage, 
barbarous,  and  semi-civilized,  to  bury  their  dead  with  provisions, 
vessels,  implements,  or  other  evidences  of  their  faith  in  some  kind 
of  a  future  existence. 

Statues  of  wood,  we  are  told  by  De  Soto's  chroniclers,  were 
found  at  the  entrance  to  the  temple  or  mausoleum  at  Talomeco. 
They  were  of  gigantic  size  and  were  carved  with  considerable  skill. J 
Adair  describes  "a  carved  human  statue  of  wood"  at  the  chief 
town  of  the  upper  Muskogee  country,  but  this,  like  the  wooden 
statues  at  the  temple,  was  doubtless  regarded  as  a  memorial,  or 
venerated  only  as  the  efiHgy  of  some  hero.  Among  the  modern  In- 
dians, the  N^atchez,  one  of  the  most   ancient  and  advanced  tribes, 

"•■■Prehistoric  America  (Nadaillac),  page  239;  Native  Races  (Bancroft),  Vol.  II, 
page  800. 

t  According  to  Colonel  Garrick  Mallery,  the  "  Spirit  Land  "  or  "  Happy  Hunting 
Grounds  "  of  the  North  American  Indians,  like  the  Paradise  of  the  Japanese,  liad 
neither  a  heaven  nor  a  hell,  and,  in  fact,  was  an  abode  without  very  well  defined 
limits  as  to  time  or  place. 

t  Narratives  of  De  Soto  (Buckingham  Smith),  page  31.     New  York,  1866. 


112 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


were  probably  worshipers  of  idols,  as  we  learn  from  Father  Petit 
that  "  the  Natchez  have  a  temple  filled  with  idols.  These  idols  are 
different  figures  of  men  and  women,  for  which  they  have  the  deep- 
est veneration."  In  another  passage  he  is  more  explicit:  ''Their 
idols  are  images  of  men  and  women  made  of  stjne  and  baked  clay, 
heads  and  tails  of  extraordinary  serpents,  stuffed  owls,  pieces  of 
crystal,  and  the  jaw-bones  of  great  fishes;"*  a  startling  unorthodox 


Fig,  31. — Image  in  Clay,  from  Stone  Grave  near  Nashville.I 


and  polytheistic  assortment  of  divinities,  indeed ;  but  Father  Petit's 
statement  is  not  wholly  at  variance  with  the  strange  mythology  and 
religious  beliefs  of  the  Indians. | 

*  Quoted  by  C.  C.  Jones  (Antiquities  of  Southern  Indians,  page  427). 

t  Author's  collection. 

X  We  are  informed  that  the  Kiowa  Indians,  now  living  in  the  Indian  Territory, 
"are  idolaters,  having  ten  idols  symbolizing  the  stars;  and  an  eleventh,  about  the 
size  of  a  large  doll,  is  called  the  'Pleasant  Life,'  and  is  regarded  with  great  venera- 
tion. The  priestly  office  is  hereditary  in  the  family  of  the  tribe  by  whom  the  wor- 
ship and  ministrations  to  the  gods  are  performed." — Philadelphia  Presbyterian,  Jan- 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA.  113 

Among  the  iirch^ological  treasures  found  in  the  -'tone  graves 
of  the  Xoel  cemetery,  recently  discovered  near  Nashvdle,  was  the 
unique  little  image,  in  clay,  of  a  child  or  papoose  strapped  to  its 
cradle-board,  photo-engraved  in  Plate  IV,  and  also  illustrated  in 
Fig.  31. 

It  was  found  in  a  child's  grave  by  Mr.  George  T.  Halley,  of 
N"ashville,  an  intelligent  young  explorer  and  collector,  from  whom 
we  obtained  it.  The  illustrations  are  correct  in  their  details,  but 
slightly  magnify  its  rudeness,  as  will  be  observed  by  turning  to  the 
more  exact  photo-engraving.  It  is  nine  inches  long,  and  four 
inches  wide,  and  was  doubtless  placed  by  the  hands  of  some  weep- 
ing Indian  mother  in  her  child's  grave,  as  a  memorial  tribute,  or 
as  a  toy  or  doll  of  which  the  child  was  fond. 

It  establishes  the  fact,  heretofore  only  presumed,  of  the  use  of 
the  cradle-board,  in  infancy,  by  the  natives  of  the  Stone  Grave  race, 
and  aids  in  explaining  the  form  of  their  crania — the  flattened  occi- 
put being  the  most  marked  cranial  characteristic.  The  little  pa- 
poose presents  the  appearance  of  a  flat  head,  as  if  the  head  board 
to  the  cradle  had  also  been  used  to  depress  its  frontal,  after  the 
manner  of  the  Chinooks  or  Flathead  Indians ;  but,  as  there  is 
little  or  no  evidence  of  frontal  depression  among  the  crania  found 
in  the  stone  graves,  the  flattened  forehead  of  this  little  image  may 
represent  an  unusual  type,  or  may  have  resulted  from  accidental 
modeling,  rather  than  from  design. 

The  illustrations  of  the  toy  cradles  of  the  Zunis  of  the  Arizona 
pueblos  (Fig.  32),  Indians  of  the  village  or  sedentary  class,  will  give 

uary  26,  1889.  Some  of  the  Indians  on  Puget  Sound  are  also  known  to  worship  idols 
made  of  wood. — Smithsonian  Keport,  1886,  Part  I,  page  294.  James  Stevenson  says : 
"  The  clay  images  or  statuettes  obtained  from  the  Shinumo  pueblos  are  not  objects 
of  worship,  as  supposed  by  many  persons,  but  appear  to  be  used  to  adorn  their 
dwellings,  just  as  similar  articles  are  used  by  civilized  races."  "  If  they  are  objects 
of  worship,  it  must  be  in  the  family  only,  or  a  secret  worship,  of  which  I  have  no 
information.  Images  are  used,  however,  in  their  dances  and  religious  rites,  but 
these  are  of  wood,"  etc. — Second  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  page  387. 


114 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


a  better  idea  of  the  use  of  tlie  cradle  or  papoose   board  than  the 
image.* 

The  custom  of  fastening  their  infants  to  these  boards  or  cradles 
was  probably  universal  among  all  known  tribes  of  I^orth  American 
Indians,  and  the  discovery  of  this  little  image  adds  another  link  to 


Fig.  32. — Toy  Cradles  of  the  Zunis., 


the  chain  of  identities  connecting  the  prehistoric  race  of  mound 
builders  with  the  modern  Indians. 

Crania. — Having  presented  various  types  of  heads  in  clay  and 
stone,  it  will  be  of  interest  in  this  connection  to  consider  the  crania 
of  the  Stone  Grave  race.  As  may  be  expected,  they  will  be  found 
to  be  similar  in  general  conformation  to  the  types  represented  in 
the  images.  They  are  fortunately  in  a  better  state  of  preservation 
than  the  crania  of  the  mound  building  tribes  in  most  other  portions 
of  the  mound  area.     The  rude,  box-shaped  sarcophagi  from  which 

*  Second  Eeport  Bureau  of  Ethnology  (Powell),  page  371. 


I 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA.  115 

they  are  obtained  have  protected  them  from  pressure,  and  from  the 
injuries  incident  to  other  methods  of  burial,  and  the  explorer  usu- 
ally finds  them  in  their  original  form,  free  from  post-mortem  distor- 
tion. There  is,  therefore,  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  crania  in  good 
condition  and  in  sufiicient  numbers  for  comparison  and  classifica- 
tion. The  Smithsonian  Institution  has  published  the  results  of  Dr. 
Joseph  Jones's  faithful  explorations  and  studies  in  this  department.* 
The  Peabody  Museum  has  also  published  the  very  intelligent  ob- 
servations of  its  assistant  curator,  Mr.  Lucien  Carr,  upon  some 
sixty-seven  crania  carefully  taken  from  the  stone  graves  and  mounds 
of  Middle  Tennessee. f  Careful  measurements  are  given,  and  types 
compared  and  classified.  The  results  are  of  great  interest,  but  in 
the  present  somewhat  confused  state  of  the  science  of  craniology, 
there  is  still  much  work  to  be  done  in  this  general  department 
before  satisfactory  conclusions  as  to  the  ethnic  status  and  connec- 
tions of  the  Stone  Grave  race  can  be  reached  by  cranial  evidence. 

The  characteristic  type  of  nearly  all  the  skulls  found  in  the 
ancient  graves  of  Middle  Tennessee  is  well  defined.  It  is  short  and 
round,  or,  in  scientific  parlance,  it  is  brachycephalic  in  form.f 

The  frontal  bones  are  elevated,  but  somewhat  retreating.  So 
far  as  we  have  observed,  they  show  little  or  no  evidence  of  artificial 
depression.  The  parietal  bones  are  round  and  full.  The  occiput 
is  almost  invariably  flattened.  This  is  one  of  the  distinguishing 
features,  and  most  marked  peculiarity,  of  the  great  majority  of 
these  crania.  In  many  cases  the  occiput  stands  almost  perpendic- 
ular.    The   vertical   diameter  is   nearly  the   same    as   the  parietal. 

*  Aboriginal  Remains  (Jones),  page  110. 

t  Eleventh  Annual  Report  Peabody  Museum,  page  361. 

t  The  scientific  principle  upon  which  the  classification  is  made,  is  as  follows : 
Taking  the  length  of  the  skull  to  be  100,  as  an  index : 

First.  When  the  breadth  is  as  73  or  less,  to  100,  they  are  called  dolichocephalic, 
or  long  skulls. 

Second.  When  they  are  from  74  to  79  in  breadth,  as  compared  with  the  length 
(100),  they  are  orthocephalic,  or  oval. 

Third.  When  they  are  80  or  more  in  breadth,  as  compared  with  the  index 
length  (100),  they  are  brachycephalic,  or  short. 


116 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


Comparatively  few  of  the  crania  are  symmetrical  in  outline,  and 
sometimes  the  posterior  flattening  is  so  irregular  or  one-sided  as  to 
constitute  actual  deformity. 

The  cheek-bones  are  large  and  prominent.  The  lower  jaw  is 
also  large  and  projecting,  or  prognathic.  Some  of  the  skeletons  are 
over  six  feet  in  length,  and  must  have  belonged  to  men  of  unusu- 
ally large  and  powerful  physical  structures,  but  the  majority  of  them 
do  not  materially  differ  in  size  or  form  from  the  remains  of  the 
aborigines  of  other  sections. 


Figs.  33  and  34. — Typical  Crania  fro>5  the  Stone  Graves. 

The  most  common  forms  of  crania*  are  rather  rudely  illus- 
trated in  profile  in  Figs.  33  and  34.  The  outlines  of  Fig.  34  scarcely 
do  justice  to  the  upper  or  intellectual  features  of  these  crania. 

Comparatively  few  of  them  have  a  relatively  greater  longitu- 
dinal diameter  than  is  represented  in  these  figures.  In  some  of 
the  types,  the  occiput  is  even  more  flattened,  indicating  how  uni- 
versal must  have  been  the  use  of  the  cradle- board  among  the  an- 
cient inhabitants  of  the  Cuniberland  valley,  a  custom  evidently  con- 
tinued through  many  generations.  Three  crania  in  our  small  col- 
lection have  transverse  of  parietal  diameters  greater  than  the   longi- 

*  These  crania  have  been  sketched  from  types  in  the  author's  collection.  The 
latter  is  numerically  small,  consisting  of  but  fourteen  well-preserved  crania,  but 
they  have  been  selected  from  many  times  that  number  of  imperfect  or  broken  ones, 
dug  up  by  the  author  and  his  employes  from  the  cemeteries  and  mounds  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  Nashville. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA. 


117 


tudinal  diameters,  showing  the  enforced  swelling  or  bulging  out  of 
the  parietal  bones,  consequent  upon  this  posterior  pressure  in  in- 
fancy. One  of  these  types  is  represented  by  Fig.  35,  an  engraving 
copied  from  photographs  of  the  original.  It  gives  a  much  more 
correct  impression  of  the  forms  of  these  skulls  than  the  profile  il- 
lustrations. 

Kegarding  these  crania,  Dr.  Jones  states :  "  The  vertically  flat- 
tened occiput  is  by  no  means  characteristic  of  the  entire  series  of 
crania  of  the  Stone  Grave  race ;  and  I  have  been  led  to  regard  this 
peculiarity,  not  as  a  typical  characteristic  dependent  on  the  specific 


Fig.  35. — A  Typical  Short  Skull."-' 


differences  of  race,  but  as  pre-eminently,  if  not  entirely,  the  result 
of  artificial  modification  during  infancy."  f 

The  irregular  and  unsymmetrical  forms  of  these  crania,  re- 
sulting from  unequal  pressure  on  the  head,  is  shown  in  Figs.  36 
and  37. 

Fig.  36  represents  a  Tennessee  skull  dug  up  by  Dr.  Jones,  in 
the  ancient  cemetery  on  the  bank  of  the  Cumberland  river,  opposite 
Nashville;  and  Fig.  37  is  from  a  mound  grave  in  south-east  Missouri. 

*  Ideographic  Encyclopoedia,  Vol.  I,  Plate  52. 
t  Aboriginal  Remains  (Jones),  page  115. 


118 


ANTIQUITIES    OP    TENNESSEE. 


The  crania  of  the  pottery  making  tribes  of  south-east  Missouri  and 
Arkansas  are  very  similar  in  form  to  those  of  the  Stone  Grave  race 
of  Tennessee,  as  might  be  presumed  from  the  many  other  indica- 
tions of  their  near  relationship.  This  abnormal  deformity  of  the 
occiput  characterizes  a  large  proportion  of  the  crania  of  both  of 
these  sections.* 

The  detailed  results  of  Dr.  Jones's  measurements  and  classifica- 
tion ol  the  crania  collected  by  him  will  be  found  in  a  note  at  the 
end  of  this  chapter;  also  a  table  of  measurements  of  the  author's 
collection.     The   twenty-one   crania   measured   by  Dr.  Jones  were 


Fig.  36. — Typical  Skull,  from 
Tennessee  Mound.! 


Fig.  37. — Typical  Skull,  from 
Missouri  Mound.! 


classified  by  him  as  short  and  round,  or  brachycephalic  in  form. 
Under  the  rule  of  measurement  laid  down,  the  crania  in  the  author's 
collection  also  belong  to  the  same  type.  The  few  skulls  from  the 
stone  graves  in  the  vicinity  of  Nashville,  in  the  collection  of  the 
Tennessee  Historical  Society,  are  of  the  same  general  form.  One 
similar  in  type,  found  in  a  cave  near  McMinnville,  and  thickly  in- 
crusted  with  stalactital  or  crystallized  lime,  deposited  in  the  cave,  is 
also  to  be  seen  in  the  same  collection.  This  can  not  be  regarded  as 
a  reliable  indication  of  very  great  age,  as  the  crust  of  lime  may  have 
been  formed  within  a  comparatively  recent  period. 

*  Conant,  page  104. 

t  The  illustration  is  reduced  from  a  similar  one  in  Conant's  Footprints  of  Van- 
ished Races,  page  106. 


I 


INSCKIBED    STONES,   IMAGES,   IDOLS,    CRANIA.  119 

Professor  Carr,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  sixty-seven 
crania  collected  by  Professor  Putnam  from  the  stone  graves  near 
Nashville,  states  that,  while  the  "  mean"  measurement  brmgs  them, 
as  a  whole,  within  the  round  or  short  class,  there  are  some  crania  in 
the  collection  that  can  not  be  regarded  as  brachycephalic.  After 
an  elaborate  analysis,  in  his  table  of  measurement  he  finally  classes 
five  as  dolichocephalic  or  long ;  eighteen  as  orthocephalic  or  oval ; 
and  forty-four  as  short  or  brachycephalic* 

In  exploring  the  extensive  cemeteries  of  the  Ohio  mound  build- 
ers, at  Madisonville,  near  Cincinnati,  Prof.  Putnam  and  Dr.  Metz 
examined  about  one  thousand  four  hundred  crania,  and  of  this  num- 
ber about  one  thousand  two  hundred  were  pronounced  short  or 
round.  The  rest  were  oval  or  long,  indicating  the  introduction  of 
these  latter  types  among  the  Ohio  mound  tribes  in  somewhat  the 
same  proportion  as  they  were  found  in  the  ancient  cemeteries  of 
Tennessee. 

Prof.  Carr  pays  our  prehistoric  Tennesseeans  a  rather  doubtful 
compliment,  in  stating  that  their  crania,  judged  by  the  ordinary 
rules  of  measurement,  would  rank  higher  than  those  of  the  ancient 
Peruvians,  the  Australian,  or  the  Hottentot.f 

He  also  states  that  the  crania  from  Tennessee,  in  the  Putnam 
collection,  show  little  or  no  evidence  of  artificial  frontal  flattening 
or  depression.  Our  observations  have  led  us  to  the  same  conclu- 
sion. The  prevalence  of  the  custom  among  the  N^atchez  and  neigh- 
boring tribes  of  flattening  the  foreheads  of  their  children  in  infancy 
by  artificial  means,  as  reported  by  Adair,  Du  Pratz,  and  other  early 
writers,  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  Natchez  were  probably 
not  closely  related  to  or  descendants  of  the  mound  building  tribes 
of  Tennessee.  This  test,  however,  can  not  be  regarded  as  con- 
clusive. 

One  of  the  skulls  found  by  Dr.  Jones  in  the  burial  mound  on 
the  bank  of  the  Cumberland  river,  opposite  Nashville,  had  an 
internal  capacity  of  one  hundred  and  three  cubic  inches,   nearly 

*  See  tables  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 

t  Eleventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  page  384. 


120  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

equaling  the  capacity  of  the  largest  recorded  Caucasian  skull. 
Prof.  Carr  also  reports  one  of  extraordinary  size,  far  above  the 
European  average,  in  the  Putnam  collection.  The  capacity  of  the 
smallest  adult  skull  in  the  list  was  less  than  sixty  per  cent  of  this 
one,  showing  the  great  variations  in  brain  measurement  among 
crania,  probably  of  the  same  tribe.  It  is  reported  that  the  crania 
of  the  modern  Indians  show  a  greater  average  cubical  capacity 
than  those  from  the  mounds,  but  the  size  of  the  brain  and  the 
shape  of  the  skull  are  now  regarded  as  aifording  no  certain  indi- 
cations of  the  intellectual  capacity  of  persons  or  races  ;  and,  unless 
the  quality,  as  well  as  the   quantity,  of  brain  can  be  determined,  it 


Fig.  38. — Typical  Pekuvian  Skull. 

seems  that  no  satisfactory  conclusions  can  be  reached  by  such 
evidence. 

The  crania  of  the  northern  Indians — the  Iroquois,  the  Hurons, 
the  Chippewas,  the  Algonkin  tribes— are  relatively  long  in  form, 
and  are  usually  classed  as  dolichocephahc,  although  a  few  short  or 
round  types  are  found  among  them.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
skulls  from  the  ancient  graves  of  Peru  have  a  striking  similarity  in 
form  to  those  of  the  Stone  Grave  race,  as  may  be  seen  from  the 
illustration  presented.  Fig.  38. 

Dr.  Ten  Kate,  who  accompanied  Frank  Gushing,  in  1887,  in  his 
explorations  among  the  ancient  pueblos  of  Arizona,  and  carefully 
examined  and  preserved  the  cranial  remains,  reports  that  the  ci'ania 
discovered  did  not  differ  from  those  of  the  modern  pueblo  Indians, 
and  "  were  round  or  brachycephalic  and  flattened  at  the  occiput." 
"  There  was  no  exception  to  this  rule."  * 

*  Frank  Gushing,  in  Science,  July  11,  1SS9. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA. 


121 


Prof.  0.  C.  Marsh  also  stated  "that  in  a  series  of  comparisons 
of  Indian  skulls,  lie  had  been  struck  with  the  similarity  between 
those  of  the  pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico  and  the  mound 
builders.  As  the  shape  of  the  mound  builder's  skull  is  very 
peculiar,  the  coincidence  is  a  striking  one."  * 

The  flattened  occiput  is  also  a  very  marked  characteristic  of 
the  crania  discovered  among  the  remains  of  the  clift'  dwellers  of 


Sf%' 


Fig.  39, — Cuff  Dweller's  Skull,  from  New  Mexico. t 

ISTew    Mexico,    who    were    neighbors    and   kindred    of    the    pueblo 
builders,  as  is  shown  in  Fig.  39. 

The  variations  in  the  forms  and  capacity  of  the  crania  found 
in  the  stone  graves  and  in  the  burial  mounds  of  the  Mississippi 
valley  have  led  to  much  controversy.  Types  nearly  as  different  as 
the  average  Caucasian  and  Ethiopian  skulls  have  occasionally  been 
found  in  the  same  ancient  cemeteries,  and  sometimes  in  adjoining 
graves,  within  the  mound  area  of  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  Missouri, 
and  Ohio.  It  is  cliflicult  to  classify  some  of  them.  The  predomi- 
nant type,  however,  is  the  short  and  round  or  brachycephalic.;{: 

*  Smithsonian  Contributions  (Morgan),  Vol.  IV,  page  202. 

t  Engraving  copied  from  Harper's  Weekly  of  September  7,  1889.  The  skull  of 
the  cliff  dweller  is  artificially  distorted  in  infancy ;  the  papoose  boards  fira  so  well 
preserved  as  to  show  plainly  the  marks  of  the  cords  used  to  tie  the  head  firmly  in 
place,  and  all  of  the  skulls  found  present  the  back  of  the  head  perfectly  flat,  with 
abnormally  high  foreheads,  where  the  skull  has  been  crowded  forward.  The  skulls 
and  bones  were  all  found  covered  with  debris,  back  of  the  cliff  dwellings,  between 
the  house  wall  and  the  wall  of  the  cave. — A.  F.  Willmarth,  Colorado  Letter,  Febru- 
ary 19,  1890. 

t  Under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  Daniel  Wilson,  of  Toronto,  supplemented  by  the 


122  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

This  is  the  typical  form  of  the  crania  of  the  ancient  inhabitants 
of  the  southern  portion  of  the  United  States,  of  the  ancient  Peru- 
vians, the  Old  Mexicans,  the  pueblo  tribes,  and  the  cliff  dwellers. 

The  mound  builders,  and  the  stone  grave  builders  of  Tennessee, 
and  the  ancient  peoples  of  the  South-west  were  evidently  closely  re- 
lated, or  were  originally  of  the  same  general  family  stock,  if  their 
origin  or  relationship  can  be  determined  by  the  similarity  in  the 
forms  of  their  crania.  As  a  general  rule,  the  crania  of  the  ancient 
tribes  of  northern  Indians  belonged  to  the  long  or  dolichocephalic 
type.* 

results  of  recent  investigations,  the  theories  of  Dr.  Morton,  of  Philadelphia,  the 
eminent  craniologist,  as  to  "  the  ethnic  unity  "  of  the  aboriginal  races  of  America,  so 
long  accepted  by  scientists,  have  in  part  been  set  aside.  Dr.  Wilson  insists  that 
there  is  "no  uniform  cranial  type,"  and,  therefore,  that  no  unity  among  the  red 
races  of  America  can  be  established  by  the  crania. — Prehistoric  Man  (Wilson),  Vol. 
II,  pages  172,  200. 

*  The  most  satisfactory  theory  yet  offered  in  explanation  of  these  variations  in 
cranial  types,  is  that  of  Prof.  Putnam,  the  intelligent  archaeologist  and  curator  of  the 
Peabody  Museum,  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  In  a  lecture  before  the  Western 
Reserve  Historical  Society  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  he  stated  in  substance  that:  "There 
were  four  great  antique  races  on  this  continent,  or  the  people,  if  of  one  race,  show  a 
greater  diversity  than  any  other  on  earth.  For  instance,  we  found  in  one  cemetery  in 
Ohio  one  thousand  five  hundred  skeletons,  and  these  were  of  various  sizes  and  dif- 
fered in  their  characteristics.  The  four  great  races  can  be  resolved  into  two— the 
long-headed  people  and  the  people  with  short  and  broad  heads.  There  is  evidence 
that  the  long-headed  people  came  from  Northern  Asia,  and  crossing  Behring  Strait, 
continued  their  «'ay  downward  as  far  as  California.  Then  they  crossed  the  great 
lakes,  went  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  made  their  way  along  the  Atlantic  coast  as  far 
south  as  North  Carolina,  and  spread  themselves  into  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania. 
There  is  evidence  that  they  resembled  the  people  of  Northern  Asia  in  face  and 
form.  The  short-headed  people  had  characteristics  of  the  people  of  Southern  Asia, 
and  resembled  the  Malay  race.  The  first  traces  of  them  we  find  in  Peru  and  Cen- 
tral America.  From  there,  they  worked  toward  the  north  into  Mexico,  New 
Mexico,  Arizona,  and,  following  the  rivers  which  empty  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
notably  the  Mississippi,  they  mingled  at  last  with  the  long-headed  people  in  Tennes- 
see and  Ohio,  and  were  finally  absorbed  by  them.  The  Indian  is  a  descendant  of 
those  two  races." 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA. 


123 


DR.  JOSEPH  JONES'S  TABLE  OF  MEASUREMENTS  OF  CRANIA. 

From  the  Stone  Graves  of  Tennessee,  Aboriginal  Remains  of  Tennessee,  page  110. 


Number 

of  the 

Cranium. 


8 
9 

10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
IS 
19 
20 
21 


Maximum. 
Minimum. 
Mean 


76.5 

80 

75 


76 
81 
80 
78 
81 
80 
77 
82 


82 
75 

82 

82 
75 
78.8 


B  £. 
o 


78 
78 
82 
84 
68 
103 
80 
79 
76 
90 
SO 
81 
92 
79 


5' 3 


103 
08 
81.44 


6.3 

6 

6.1 

6.2 

6.5 

6.4 

7 

6.6 

7 

6.3 

6.9 

6.8 

6.9 

6.1 

6.1 

7.2 

6.1 

6.5 

6.7 

6.5 

6.4 


6 
6.5 


B 


n   ^ 


5.4 

5.6 

5.7 

5.7 

5.8 

4.9 

5.9 

5.6 

5.2 

6 

5.6 

5.2 

5.5 

6.4 

5.8 

5.7 

5.5 

5.8 

5.5 

5.7 

5.9 


6.4 
4.9 

5.68 


4.3 

4.4 

4.3 

4.1 

4.4 

3.9 

4.8 

4.3 

3.9 

4.4 

4.3 

4.1 

4.3 

4.4 

4.6 

4.6 

4.1 

4.5 

4.2 

4 

4.6 


4.8 
3.9 
4.21 


^  2 

"^   2". 


o 


5.5 

5.4 

5.6 

5.5 

5.8 

5.5 

6.4 

5.5 

5.8 

5.4 

6 

5.8 

5.7 

6 

5.5 

5.9 

4.5 

4.6 

5.5 

5.6 

5.7 


FB 
g-2. 


6.4 

4.5 
5.56 


15 

14.6 

15 

15.2 

15.5 

13.9 

16.8 

15 

14.7 

15.7 

15.7 

15 

15 

16.5 

15 

16 

14 

15 

15 

14.4 

15 


16.8 
13.9 
15 


„3 


5 

5.1 
5.2 
5.4 
5.2 
4.5 
5.3 
4.6 
4.6 
4.6 
4.8 
4.7 
4.8 
5.4 
4.8 
4.6 


4.4 

5 

4.9 


5.4 
4.4 
4.57 


^2. 

-I 
-I 


13.5 

13.2 

13 

14 

14.3 

13.8 

15.7 

13.8 

15.2 

13.8 

14.8 

14.4 

14 

13.8 

13.4 

15.2 

13.6 

13.5 
13.3 
14 


-t  o 
►5-2. 

c  2 

^  E 

cr  ' 


15.7 
13 

13.88 


19 

18.9 

19 

19 

19.9 

18.2 

20.8 

19.3 

19.5 

19.4 

20.3 

19.5 

19.6 

19.8 

18.9 

20.8 

19 

19.4 

19.1 

19.2 

19 


20.8 
18.2 
19.8 


124 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


TABLE  OF  MEASUREMENTS. 

Author's  Collection. 


M 

^ 

^ 

<1 

P  2 

-^:? 
^^^r 

si 

Number 
of 

Cranium. 

CO   p 

5«  S' 

i^o, 

B 

B 

B 

QO     Hj.. 

5.6 

1 

6.3 

4.2 

6.1 

o 

5  9 

6 

4  8 

5  7 

3 

6.1 

5.8 

4.1 

5.6 

4 

6 

5.7 

5.5 

6.1 

6 

6.3 

7 

6.3 

5.8 

6.1 

6.1 

7 

5 

5.2 

5.2 

6.4 

5.7 

5.7 

5.8 

5.6 

6 

5.6 

5.1 

6.4 

4.1 
3.8 
3.6 
4.4 
4.7 
4.2 
4.1 
4.3 
4.2 
4.6 
4.1 

4.7 

5.4 

5.3 

5.3 

6.2 

5.9 

5.8 

6.2 

5.7 

5.8 

6 

5.5 

6.2 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

Maximum  . . . 

Minimum  . . . 

5.5 

5 

3.6 

5.3 

Mean 

6.1 

5.62 

4.2 

5.7 

There  are  three  unusually  small  crania  in 
the  collection  ;  No.  6,  was  that  of  a  young  per- 
son, not  fully  grown,  judging  from  the  denti- 
tion. An  ordinary  pair  of  calipers  and  a  fine 
decimal  rule  were  used  in  making  the  measure- 
ments. They  are  made  with  accuracy  ;  but  the 
writer  makes  no  claim  whatever  to  scientific  at- 
tainments as  a  craniologist. 

These  crania  were  selected  and  placed  in 
our  collection  mainly  because  of  their  good  state 
of  preservation,  and  without  reference  to  their 
forms. 


INSCRIBED    STONES,    IMAGES,    IDOLS,    CRANIA. 


125 


LUCIAN  CARR'S  TABLE. 

Mean  Measurements  of  sixty-seven  Crania,  from  the  Stone  Graves  of  Tennessee. 
(Capacity  in  cubic  centimetres  ;  length,  breadth,  etc.,  in  millimetres.) 


Si 

td 

ffl 

1— 1 
P 

13 

^ 

ns 

p 

(T> 

a- 

&. 

1— «• 

o 

p 

CfQ 

pa 

OQ 

o 

O 

o 

^ri 

&. 

Cr 

>i 

X 

^ 

o 

p' 

t=- 

cl- 

o 

o 

""^ 

Index 

0 

irt- 

C3- 

ctq' 

>— hi 

3 

of 
breadth. 

p" 

1 

Dolichocephali 

5 

1325 

184 

13"? 

149 

716 

775 

94 

730  and  under 

2 

Orthocephali 

18 

1346 

172 

134 

141 

.775 

.819 

89 

.740®  .800. 

3 

Brachycephali 

29 

1284 

165 

141 

142 

.856 

.865 

90 

.800®  .900. 

4 

Much  flattened 

15 

1461 

156 

152 

145 

.973 

907 

93 

126  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


THE  ANCIENT  POTTERY. 

The  Art  Instinct  in  Ancient  America — The  Pottery  of  the  Historic  Tribes — Superior- 
ity of  Southern  Ware — Methods  of  Manufacture — Bottle  and  Jar  Shaped  Ves- 
sels— The  Coloring — Decorated  Vessels — Bowl  and  Kettle  Forms — The  Fine 
Head  Handles — Animal  Forms — The  Best  Types — The  Indian  Dog — The  Large 
Vessels — The  Trowels,  Rattles,  Implements,  Totems,  and  Ornaments  in  Pottery 
— Earrings,  Wheels,  Medicine  Bottle — Fiji  Pottery. 

The  rude  forms  of  art  in  clay  were  probably  among  tbe  earliest 
inventions  of  the  human  race.  Birch,  m  his  work  on  "Ancient 
Pottery,"  states  that  "  clay  is  a  material  so  generally  diffused,  and 
its  plastic  nature  so  easily  discovered,  that  the  art  of  working  it 
does  not  exceed  the  intelligence  of  the  rudest  savage."*  The  Hot- 
tentots and  Fuegians,  races  grading  very  low  in  the  scale  of  civili- 
zation, made  and  used  pottery. f  The  cannibals  of  the  Fiji  Islands, 
one  of  the  most  savage  tribes  of  the  Pacific,  made  fine  vessels  of 
pottery,  of  varied  and  graceful  forms,  some  of  them  resembling  the 
best  grades  of  Peruvian  ware.  Schoolcraft  tells  us  the  arts  of  plant- 
ing corn  and  making  pottery  came  together.  Writing  of  this  natu- 
ral artistic  faculty  among  certain  savage  tribes,  Sir  John  Lubbock 
states  "  that  their  appreciation  of  art  is  to  be  regarded  rather  as 
an  ethnological  characteristic  than  as  an  indication  of  any  particu- 
lar stage  of  civilization."  X 

This  artistic  faculty  seems  to  have  been  a  characteristic  of  the 
aboriginal  races  of  America.  The  Toltecs,  the  Aztecs,  the  Mayas, 
the  Peruvians,  and  Quichuas  illustrated  it  in  its  highest  state.  The 
pueblo  builders  of  the  "West,  the  mound  builders  and  pottery  makers 

"•■■  Introductory,  page  1. 

t  Prehistoric  Times  (Lubbock),  pages  551,  555. 

i  Prehistoric  Times,  page  549. 


THE  ANCIENT  POTTERY.  127 

of  the  Mississippi  valley,  the  north-west  coast  Indians,  and  the  more 
nomadic  tribes  of  Red  Indians,  possessed  the  same  natural  gift  in 
varying  degrees.  Even  the  Esquimaux,  in  their  hyperborean  homes, 
execute  carvings  with  force  and  fidelity,  surpassing  any  similar 
work  found  among  the  remains  of  the  mound  building  tribes.  This 
natural  art  instinct  doubtless  belonged  to  the  parent  stock  or  stocks 
of  native  Americans,  an  inheritance,  at  a  remote  period,  perhaps, 
from  Northern  or  Southern  Asia,  or  both.  It  has  been  a  character- 
istic of  the  eastern  races  of  Asia  from  time  immemorial.  It  fol- 
lowed them  out  into  the  far  islands  of  the  Pacific  ocean.* 

These  precedents  and  reflections  are  suggested  in  advance, 
to  enable  us  to  form  a  more  correct  estimate  of  the  condition 
of  society  that  existed  in  ancient  Tennessee,  as  represented  by 
the  remains  of  the  potter's  art.  In  no  other  branches  of  industry, 
or  artistic  w^ork,  had  its  prehistoric  people  made  such  advances. 
Through  these  remains,  therefore,  we  may  hope  to  unlock  some 
of  the  secrets  of  ancient  domestic  life,  and  perhaps  discover  traces 
of  the  ethnic  history  of  the  mound  builders  of  Tennessee.  The 
stone  graves  of  our  old  cemeteries,  those  enduring  receptacles  of 
archaeological  treasures,  have  fortunately  preserved,  for  our  in- 
spection, the  remains  of  the  native  ceraniic  arts. 

IS'early  all  tribes  of  modern  Indians  also  manufactured  pottery 
when  first  visited  by  the  Europeans,  and  it  is  not  always  easy  to 
distinguish  the  historic  from  the  prehistoric  ware.  The  northern 
tribes  made  clay  pipes  and  utensils  of  the  ruder  class,  sometimes  or- 
namented with  medallions  and  decorative  markings.  Nature  kindly 
contributed  to  the  ease  of  living  at  the  south,  and  seemed  to  have 
favored  a  higher  development  in  the  humbler  arts  and  industries. 
According  to  the  accounts  of  the  early  writers,  the  pottery  of  some 
of  the  southern  tribes  was  finely  finished,  and  of  varied  and  svm- 
metrical  forms.  The  Gentleman  of  Elvas,  one  of  the  journalists  of 
De  Soto's  campaign,  declares  that  the  vessels  of  pottery  used  by  the 

■-■•■  Sir  Daniel  Wilson  has  suggested  that  the  forms  of  ancient  Peruvian  pottery- 
may  yet  be  traced  back  into  Mongolian  and  Eastern  art. — Prehistoric  Man,  Vol.  II, 
page  43. 


128  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

natives  of  Arkansas,  and  elsewhere,  in  1541,  eqnaled  standard  Span- 
ish ware,  "  little  ditiering  from  that  of  Estremoz  or  Moutemor;"* 
and  that  ''  they  had  great  store  of  walnut  oil,  clear  as  butter,  and  of 
good  taste,  and  of  the  honey  of  bees  preserved  in  pots."  Mar- 
quette, the  discoverer  of  the  Mississippi,  in  his  account  of  his  visit 
to  the  Indians  in  Arkansas  and  Mississippi,  in  1673,  writes  that 
"they  used,  in  cooking,  large  earthen  pots,  very  curiously  made; 
also,  large,  baked  earthern  plates,  which  they  used  for  different  pur- 
poses." t 

Adair  and  Lieutenant  Timberlake  both  mention  the  use  and 
manufacture  of  pottery  by  the  Cherokees.  The  former  states  that 
when  he  visited  them — as  late  as  1774 — they  made  "  earthern  pots 
containing  from  two  to  ten  gallons,  large  pitchers  to  carry  water, 
bowls,  dishes,  platters,  basins,  and  a  prodigious  number  of  other 
vessels  of  such  antiquated  forms,  as  would  be  tedious  to  describe 
and  impossible  to  name;"  a  statement  that  certainly  accurately  de- 
scribes the  motley  assortment  of  pottery  wq  find  in  our  Tennessee 
mounds  and  graves.  The  Natchez  Indians  were  so  skillful  in  mak- 
ing their  "red-stained  pottery,"  that  Du  Pratz,  the  historian  of 
Louisiana,  states  that  he  had  them  make  for  him  a  set  of  plates 
for  his  table  use.| 

Captain  John  Smith  says,  "  the  Indians  of  Virginia  used  pot- 
tery of  clay  made  by  women,"  and  Bartram  also  mentions  the  fact 
that  the  Indians  of  Georgia  made  and  used  utensils  of  earthenware 
in  1773,  the  date  of  his  visit  among  them.H 

*  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  Part  II,  page  201 ;  Narratives  of  De  Soto 
(Buckingham  Smith),  page  165. 

t  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  Part  II,  page  295. 

t  The  women  make  pots  of  an  extraordinary  size,  jars  with  medium  size  open- 
ings, bowls,  two  pint  bottles  with  long  necks,  pots  or  jugs  for  containing  bear's  oil, 
which  hold  as  much  as  forty  pints,  and,  finally,  plates  and  dishes  in  the  French 
fashion.— Histoire  de  la  Louisane  (Du  Pratz),  A^ol.  II,  page  279. 

II  Bartram's  Travels  (London,  1792),  page  511.  In  Harlot's  Virginia,  we  are  in- 
formed that  "  their  women  know  how  to  make  earthern  vessels  with  special  cun- 
ninge,  and  that  so  large  and  fine,  that  our  potters,  with  thoye  wheles,  can  make  noe 
better ;  and  then  remove  them  from  place  to  place,  as  easelye  as  we  can  do  our 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY.  129 

The  Mandan  Indians  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  we  are  told  by 
Catlin,  manufactured  excellent  pottery.  "  Earthen  dishes  or 
bowls,"  he  states,  "  are  a  familiar  part  of  the  culinary  furniture  of 
every  Mandan  lodge,  and  are  manufactured  by  the  women  of  this 
tribe  in  great  quantities,  and  modelled  into  a  thousand  forms  and 
tastes.  They  are  made  by  the  hands  of  the  women  from  a  tough, 
black  clay,  and  baked  in  kilns  which  are  made  for  the  purpose, 
and  are  nearly  equal  in  hardness  to  our  manufacture  of  pottery, 
though  they  have  not  yet  got  the  art  of  glazing,  which  would  be  to 
them  a  most  valuable  secret.  They  make  them  so  strong  and 
serviceable,  however,  that  they  hang  them  over  the  fire  as  we  do 
our  iron  pots,  and  boil  their  meat  in  them  with  perfect  success.  I 
have  seen  some  few  specimens  of  such  manufacture  which  have 
been  dug  up  in  Indian  mounds,  and  tombs  in  the  southern  and  mid- 
dle states,  placed  in  our  eastern  museums,  and  looked  upon  as  a 
great  wonder,  when  here  this  novelty  is  at  once  done  away  with, 
and  the  whole  mystery ;  where  women  can  be  seen  handling  and 
using  them  by  hundreds,  and  they  be  seen  every  day  in  the  summer 
also,  molding  them  into  many  fanciful  forms  and  passing  them 
through  the  kiln  where  they  are  hardened."  * 

These  historic  accounts  of  the  manufacture  and  general  use  of 
pottery  ware,  even  in  its  ornamental  and  fanciful  forms,  among  the 
later  tribes,  arrest  the  attention,  and  show  us  how  narrow  are  the 
lines  of  distinction  that  separate  the  arts  of  the  mound  building 
tribes  from  the  arts  of  some  of  the  modern  Indian  s.f 

The  custom  of  placing  food  vessels,  utensils,  and  implements  in 
the  graves  with  their  dead  having  been  almost  universal  with  the 

■brassen  kettles." — Quoted  by  C.  C.  Jones  in  Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians, 
page  448. 

*  Illustrations  of  the  Manners,  Customs,  etc.,  of  the  North  American  Indians, 
Vol.  II,  page  116. 

t  Prof.  Cyrus  Thomas  states  that,  at  a  recent  date,  Indians  residing  on  the  gulf 
near  Mobile,  remnants  of  the  modern  Alabama  tribes,  made  pottery  of  good  quality 
and  glazed  it.  Specimens  of  this  ware  may  be  found  in  the  National  Museum,  at 
Washington. 

9 


130  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

ancient  and  modern  tribes,  the  foregoing  citations  admonish  us  that 
we  can  not  be  certain  that  all  the  pottery  found  in  the  graves  and 
mounds  is  prehistoric,  or  necessarily  of  very  ancient  date,  notwith- 
standing the  popular  impression  to  the  contrary. 

The  superiority  in  art  and  industry  of  the  more  advanced  tribes 
of  southern  Indians  at  the  dawn  of  history  would  seem  to 
strengthen  the  traditions  of  the  northern  tribes,  that  the  mound 
builders  of  the  Ohio  valley  had  been  forced  to  the  southward.  A 
culture  above  that  of  the  nomadic  tribes  of  the  l^orth,  and  not  of 
very  ancient  date,  has,  without  doubt,  left  its  impress  upon  these 
southern  tribes. 

The  decline  of  the  potter's  art  among  the  historic  tribes  dates 
from  the  introduction  of  European  ware.  It  could  not  compete 
with  the  better  utensils  of  the  early  traders,  and  pottery  making 
soon  became  one  of  the  lost  arts.  It  is  now  unknown  among  the 
native  tribes,  excepting  the  pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona,  who  still  continue  the  manufacture  of  earthenware,  in  its 
quality,  coloring,  methods  of  fabrication,  and,  indeed,  in  many  of 
its  forms,  not  unlike  some  of  the  ware  now  found  in  the  stone 
graves  of  Tennessee,  and  in  the  pottery  districts  of  Missouri, 
Arkansas,  Mississippi,  Illinois,  and  other  sections  of  the  mound 
area.''^ 

A  number  of  early  writers  have  also  favored  us  with  minute  ac- 
counts of  the  methods  adopted  by  the  southern  Indians  in  manufac- 
turing earthenware.  Dumont,  in  his  Historical  Memoirs  of  Louisi- 
ana, published  in  1753,  states  "that,  having  amassed  the  proper  kind 
of  clay,  and  carefully  cleaned  it,  the  Indian  women  (of  Louisiana)  take 
shells,  which  they  pound  and  reduce  to  a  fine  powder ;  they  mix  this 
powder  with  the  clay,  and,  having  poured  some  water  on  the  mass, 

*  Mr.  James  Stevenson,  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  who,  in  1879,  in  company 
with  Frank  H.  Gushing,  made  a  valuable  collection  of  the  pottery  of  the  Zunis  and 
other  pueblo  tribes  for  the  National  Museum,  reports :  "  The  resemblance  of  this 
Indian  ware,  in  the  form  of  the  vessels,  to  that  found  in  the  ancient  mounds  of  this 
country,  is  so  marked,  that  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remind  the  reader  of  the  fact." 
—Reports  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Vol,  II,  page  333. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY.  131 

they  knead  it  with  their  hands  and  feet,  and  make  it  into  a  paste, 
of  which  they  form  rolls,  six  or  seven  feet  long,  and  of  a  thick- 
ness suitable  for  their  purpose.  If  they  intend  to  fashion  a  plate 
or  a  vase,  they  take  hold  of  one  of  the  rolls  by  the  end,  and  fix- 
ing here  with  the  thumb  of  the  left  hand  the  center  of  the  vessel 
they  are  about  to  make,  they  turn  the  roll  with  astonishing  quick- 
ness around  this  center,  describing  a  spiral  line ;  now  and  then 
they  dip  their  lingers  into  water,  and  smooth  with  the  right  hand 
the  inner  and  outer  surface  of  the  vase  they  intend  to  fashion, 
which  would  become  ruffled  or  undulated  without  that  manipula- 
tion. In  this  manner  they  make  all  sorts  of  earthern  vessels,  plates, 
dishes,  bowls,  pots,  and  jars,  some  of  which  hold  forty  to  fifty 
pints.  The  burning  of  this  pottery  does  not  cause  them  much 
trouble.  Having  dried  it  in  the  shade,  they  kindle  a  large  fire,  and 
when  they  have  a  sufiicient  quantity  of  embers,  they  clean  a  space 
in  the  middle,  where  they  deposit  their  vessels,  and  cover  them 
with  charcoal.  Thus  they  bake  their  earthenware,  which  can  now 
be  exposed  to  the  fire,  and  possesses  as  much  durability  as  ours. 
Its  solidity  is  doubtless  to  be  attributed  to  the  pulverized  shells, 
which  the  women  mix  with  the  clay.* 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  mixing  pounded  shells  with  the 
clay,  and  in  other  details  of  the  potter's  art,  the  processes  used 
within  the  historic  period,  could  not  have  substantially  differed 
from  the  earlier  methods  of  manufacture. f 

*  Dumont's  Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  page  271. 

t  The  methods  of  pottery  making  among  the  Zunis  and  other  pueblo  tribes,  as 
described  by  Stevenson  and  others,  are  somewhat  similar  to  those  adopted  by  the 
southern  Indians.  The  pueblo  women,  as  usual,  are  the  potters.  Not  having  a  sup- 
ply of  wood  for  charcoal,  Stevenson  says,  the  Zunis  cover  their  ware  ready  for  burn- 
ing, with  an  oven  made  of  dried  manure.  In  the  absence  of  shells,  the  pueblo  In- 
dians mix  their  clay  with  fragments  of  old  pottery  ground  up,  and  with  crushed 
lava  and  other  materials.  Similar  colors  are  also  used  in  ornamentation.  Like  the 
Stone  Grave  race  oi  Tennessee,  they  also  use  smoothers  or  little  trowels  of  clay. — 
Annual  Reports  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Vol.  II,  pages  329,  330.  Hunter  also  describes 
the  methods  of  makinL:  pottery  adopted  by  the  modern  Western  tribes,  as  follows : 
"  In  manufacturing  their  pottery  for  cooking  and  domestic  purposes,  they  collect 


132  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

Having  very  briefly  reviewed  the  accounts  of  the  potter's  art 
among  the  modern  Indians,  we  will  defer  further  comparisons  and 
suggestions  as  to  the  relative  merits  of  the  old  and  the  modern 
ware,  and  proceed  to  examine  the  remains  of  this  art  found  in  the 
stone  graves  and  burial  mounds  of  Tennessee.  Recent  explorations 
in  the  ancient  cemeteries  near  ZSTashville  have  fortunately  yielded 
collections  that  will  enable  us  to  present,  with  convenience,  speci- 
mens of  most  of  the  varieties  of  pottery  heretofore  discovered  in 
the  state. 

In  order  to  present  some  of  the  types  with  accuracy  of  form 
and  appearance,  the  author  has  had  a  number  of  plates  of  the  pot- 
tery in  his  collection  engraved  by  the  new  photo-mechanical  pro- 
cesses of  engraving,  which  illustrate  the  objects  with  photographic 
accuracy. 

The  accompanying  plate  (No.  V)  presents  various  forms  of 
vases,  bottle-shaped  vessels,  and  jars  (a  little  less  than  one-fourth 
natural  diameters  or  sizes).  Some  of  the  forms  are  common,  others 
are  rare.  All  of  the  vessels  with  fanciful,  animal,  or  human  heads 
have  holes  at  the  backs  of  the  heads,  doubtless  for  practical  use. 
The  top-knots,  rather  faintly  shown  on  two  of  the  heads,  were  evi- 
dently molded  in  imitation  of  the  head-dresses  of  that  time.  The 
owl,  the  bear,  the  fox,  and  the  human  face  are  familiar  types. 

There  is  no  evidence  of  the  use  of  the  wheel  or  lathe  by  the 
ancient  pottery  makers  of  Tennessee  or  the  Mississippi  valley.  The 
ware  is  hand  made,  and  has  been  built  up  with  the  aid  of  rude 
molds,  and  in  baskets,  and  in  cloth  and  matting  bags.     Clay  trowels 

tough  clay,  beat  it  into  powder,  temper  it  with  water,  and  then  spread  it  over  blocks 
of  wood  which  have  been  formed  into  shapes  to  suit  their  convenience  or  fancy ; 
when  sufficiently  dried,  they  are  removed  from  the  molds,  placed  in  proper  situa- 
tions, and  burned  to  a  hardness  suitable  to  their  intended  uses.  Another  process 
practiced  by  them  is  to  coat  the  inner  surface  of  baskets  made  of  rushes  or  willows 
with  clay  to  any  required  thickness,  and,  when  dry,  to  burn  them  as  above  de- 
scribed. In  this  way,  they  construct  large,  handsome,  and  durable  ware ;  though 
latterly,  with  such  tribes  as  have  intercourse  with  the  whites,  it  is  not  much  used 
because  of  the  substitution  of  cast-iron  ware  in  its  stead." — Hunter's  Manners  and 
Customs  of  Indian  Tribes,  Philadelphia,  1823,  page  296. 


THE   ANCIENT    POTTERY.  133 

were  used  in  smoothing  and  rounding  the  open  vessels.  The  ex- 
actness and  graceful  outlines  of  many  of  the  forms  were  probably 
due  mainly  to  acquired  dexterity  and  correctness  of  measurement 
by  the  eye,  doubtless  aided  by  various  simple  mechanical  appliances, 
such  as  convenience  would  suggest.  The  wheel  was  unknown  to 
the  ppttery  art  of  the  pueblo  Indians,  and  there  is  no  evidence  of  its 
use  in  ancient  Mexico  or  Peru.  The  vitreous  glaze  was  also  un- 
known to  the  potters  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  Various  devices 
were  used  in  substitution.  The  ware  was  rubbed,  oiled,  and  pol- 
ished, and  doubtless  the  finer  grades  of  clay  paste  were  applied  to 
the  surface  to  give  it  a  fine  and  glossy  finish.  Some  of  the  vessels 
have  almost  the  ring  of  glazed  ware.  The  absence  of  a  vitreous 
glaze  is  a  characteristic  of  all  or  nearly  all  the  pottery  of  ancient 
America,  even  in  the  localities  of  its  highest  development.  A  few 
glazed  fragments  have  been  reported  to  have  been  discovered 
among  the  ancient  ware  of  Central  America  and  Mexico.  The 
pueblo  Indians  had  no  knowledge  of  it.  Some  of  our  Tennessee 
and  Mississippi  vessels  have  as  hard  and  fine  a  gloss  and  finish,  as 
we  have  noticed  upon  any  of  the  ware  of  the  pueblos. 

Nearly  all  of  the  pottery  from  the  stone  graves  of  Tennessee 
has  passed  through  some  process  of  burning  or  hardening  by  fire, 
as  may  be  presumed  from  the  good  condition  in  which  much  of  it 
is  found.  Some  of  it  is  as  compact  and  well-burned  as  vitrified 
ware.  It  is  not  probable  that  it  would  have  retained  its  form  and 
hardness  in  the  moist  climate  of  Tennessee  and  in  graves,  often  in 
the  sandy  loam  of  the  river  terraces,  if  originally  only  sun  dried ; 
but  we  have  succeeded  in  taking  from  the  graves  some  perfect  ves- 
sels that  have  evidently  never  been  subjected  to  the  action  of  fire.* 

About  half  of  this  earthenware  is  of  a  grey  or  stone  color,  the 
familiar  color  of  much  of  the  Missouri  and  Arkansas  ware.     The 

"•■•  In  cleaning  some  pottery  from  burial  grounds  on  the  river  bank  near  Nash- 
ville, the  writer's  wife,  who  was  assisting  liim,  dipi^ed  a  fine,  and  apparently  hard 
frog-shaped  bowl,  into  warm  water  to  wash  it.  In  a  moment  it  was  almost  dis- 
solved into  its  original  clay,  and  she  only  saved  it  from  total  destruction  by  jerking 
it  out  and  partly  remodeling  it  while  in  its  pliable  condition. 


134  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

finest  vessels  found  in  the  large  ISToel  cemetery,  near  l^ashville,  and 
in  some  of  the  neighboring  burial  grounds,  were  generally  reddish 
brown,  a  specialty  of  this  section  representing  the  best  develop- 
ment in  the  pottery  art.  Others  are  of  a  very  light  clay  color,  the 
vessels  usually  retaining  the  coloring  of  the  clay  of  which  they  are 
made.  Occasionally  a  vase  or  head  is  found,  of  fine  and  nearly 
black  ware. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  finer  vessels  and  images  of  light  clay 
were  originally  painted  or  decorated  with  colors,  some  of  them  well 
burned  or  painted  into  the  clay ;  but,  in  the  intervening  centuries 
of  burial,  the  paint  has  faded  and  become  indistinct.  Vases  hand- 
somely decorated,  when  lifted  from  their  beds  in  the  graves,  soon 
lose  most  of  their  colors  by  exposure  to  the  air,  unless  protected  by 
a  coating  of  shellac,  or  some  other  impermeable  substance. 

Ochre,  in  its  several  shades,  and  other  pigments  and  dyes,  some 
of  them  purple  or  bluish  tints,  were  used  in  coloring.  Vessels  con- 
taining finely-powdered  mineral  paints  have  occasionally  been  found 
in  the  caves  and  graves.* 

The  coarse,  red  mineral  paint  decorations,  frequently  found  on 
the  light  clay-colored  ware  from  Arkansas,  are  rare  in  Tennessee  ; 
indeed,  fewer  vessels  ornamented  with  colors  have  been  discovered 
in  the  Cumberland  valley  than  in  the  pottery  districts  west  of  the 
Mississippi.  The  Tennessee  ware,  as  a  class,  is  darker,  but  the  deco- 
rations on  the  light-colored  vases  appear  to  have  been  usually  skill- 
fully and  deeply  burned  or  painted  into  the  clay,  and  polished  or 
burnished  in  finishing,  instead  of  being  laid  or  painted  on  the  out- 
side, and  left  unpolished,  as  seems  to  have  been  the  custom  in  Ar- 
kansas. A  few  vessels  of  lustrous  black  ware  have  been  found  in 
Tennessee.  They  are,  however,  more  common  in  Mississippi  and  in 
the  lower  Mississippi  valley.     They  are   symmetrical  in  form,  well 

*  Colonel  AV.  A.  Henderson,  of  Knoxville,  has  an  ancient  vessel  of  earthenware 
found  in  a  cave  near  McMinnville.  When  discovered,  it  was  partly  filled  with  pow- 
dered red  ochre.  We  are  indebted  to  him  for  a  good  sample  of  it.  Du  Pratz  men- 
tions the  fact  that  the  Natchez  Indians  colored  their  pottery  a  beautiful  red  by 
using  ochre,  which  becomes  red  after  burning.— History  of  Louisiana,  page  179. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY.  135 

burned,  and  in  quality  are  above  the  grade  of  the  average  ware  of 
the  old  pottery  makers.  Adair  tells  us  the  method  adopted  by  the 
southern  Indians,  in  "glazing"  their  vessels  of  pottery  with  this 
fine  black  polish,  was  by  placing  "  them  over  a  large  fire  of  smoking 
pitch  pine,  which  makes  them  smooth,  black,  and  firm."  * 

The  faint  outlines  of  the  decorations  on  some  of  the  vessels 
in  Plate  V  may  still  be  noticed.  They  were  very  indistinct  in  the 
photograph  engraved,  although  still  plainly  marked  upon  the  orig- 
inal objects. 

Better  examples  of  decorated  vessels  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  40. 

The  bottle,  or  water  jar,  ornamented  with  the  figure  of  an  open 
hand  (N^oel  cemetery),  was  discovered  since  Plate  Y  was  engraved. 
Unfortunately,  its  long  burial  has  partly  obliterated  the  design  and 
coloring,  but  enough  remains  to  show  their  general  outlines.  The 
design  was  evidently  ideographic,  and  probably  possessed  some  pe- 
culiar significance.  A  vessel  of  the  same  size  and  form,  and  simi- 
larly ornamented,  but  with  an  up-raised  hand,  was  found  in  Frank- 
lin county,  Northern  Alabama,  near  the  Mississippi  line,  and  is  well 
illustrated  in  the  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology, 

*  History  of  the  American  Indians,  page  4.  London,  1775.  James  Stevenson 
informs  us  tliat  ttie  Santa  Clara,  and  otlier  Indians  of  the  eastern  pueblos  of  New 
Mexico,  color  their  black  ware  in  substantially  the  same  manner.  In  describing 
their  methods  of  burning  in  rude  kilns,  he  states:  "Those  (vessels)  which  the 
artists  intend  to  color  black  are  allowed  to  remain,  and  another  application  of  fuel, 
finely  pulverized,  is  n^ade,  completely  covering  and  smothering  the  fire.  This  pro- 
duces a  dense,  dark  smoke,  a  portion  of  which  is  absorbed  by  the  baking  vessels, 
and  gives  them  the  desired  black  color.  It  is  in  this  manner  that  the  black  ware  of 
these  eastern  pueblos  is  produced." — Reports  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Vol.  II,  page 
331. 

Mr.  Stevenson  also  informs  us,  in  the  same  report,  that  "the  only  colors  used" 
by  the  pueblo  Indians  "  in  decorating  pottery,  are  black,  red,  and  some  shades  of 
brown,"  the  colors  chiefly  used  by  the  old  pottery  makers  of  the  Mississippi  valley. 
His  descriptions  of  the  methods  of  fabricating  pueblo  pottery  show  many  other 
points  of  identity.  The  ancient  pottery  arts  of  the  tribes  living  upon  or  near  the 
upper  tributaries  of  the  Arkansas  river,  in  New  Mexico,  were  doubtless  known  to 
the  tribes  living  upon  the  same  river  in  the  State  of  Arkansas  during  the  prehistoric 
period. 


136 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


page  433.     The  two  vessels  are  so  nearly  alike  that  they  appear  to 
have  been  decorated  in  the  same  aboriginal  paint  shop. 

The  other  two  vessels  in  the  figure,  painted  with  circles,  are  fa- 
miliar types  of  ornamentation  in  the  Nashville  district.     The  black 


Fig.  40. — Decorated  Vessels  Found  near  Nashville  (One-fourth)."* 

and   purplish    colors   have   been    so  well    and  smoothly  burned  or 
worked  into  the  clay  that  a  good  washing  does  not  injure  them. 

A  good   example  of  ancient   pottery  decoration   is   illustrated 
in  the  little  bowl,  Fig.  41. 


Fig.  41. — Ornamented  Bowl,  Noel  Cemetery  (One-third).* 

Another  form  of  ornamentation  is  shown  in  Fig.  42,  a  vessel 
discovered  by  Dr.  Jones,  within  the  ancient  inclosure  on  the  Big 
Harpeth  river,  near  Franklin,  Tennessee. 

"■■■  Author's  collection. 


THE  ANCIENT  POTTERY. 


137 


The  vase  is  of  a  light  yellow  clay  color,  and  on  its  sides  are 
painted  three  crosses  of  dark  brown — almost  black  color — sur- 
rounded by  ornamental  circles.* 


Fig.  42. — Decorated  Vase  Found  near  Franklin  (One-fifth). 


Fig.  43. — Vase  from  Big  Harpetii  AVorks  (One-third). 

In  one  of  the  stone  graves  of  the  Big  Harpeth  works,  Dr. 
Jones  discovered  the  vessel  fashioned  somewhat  in  the  shape  of  a 
child's  foot  and  leg — represented  in  Fig.  43.     It  was  found  beside 

*  Aborif^inal   Remains   (Jones),  page  57.      Mr.   J.   B.  Nicklin,  of   Chattanooga, 
Tennessee,  has  in  his  fine  collection  of  antiquities  an  ancient  bowl  and  water  bottle, 


138 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


the  skull,  and  was  painted,  but  the  faint  lines  of  coloring  soon  dis- 
appeared.* A  pipe  of  somewhat  similar  form  is  iigured  in  the  next 
chapter. 

The  effigy  vessel,  or  image,  Fig.  44,  was  found  by  Dr.  Jones  in 
a  child's  grave  of  the  large  burial  mound  on  the  bank  of  the  Cum- 
berland river,  opposite  the  city  of  JSTashville.  It  is  of  hard  black 
ware,  with  a  polished  surface,  and  is  hollow,  with  the  usual  aperture 
at  the  back  of  the  head,  indicating  that  it  may  have  been  utilized 
as  a  vase  or  bottle.     It  is  certainly  unique  in  its  anatomy. f 


Fig.  44. — Image  Found  Opposite  Nashville  (One-sixth). 


In  exploring  the  ancient  earth-works,  near  Lebanon,  Tennes- 
see, which  he  designates  "  the  remains  of  a  fortified  Indian  village," 
Prof.  F.  W.  Putnam,  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  discovered,  buried 
under  the  earthen  floors  of  the  Indian  huts,  or  houses,  a  number  of 
antiques  of  clay,  stone,  and  shell,  showing  the  high  attainments  of 

found  in  the  Coxe  mound  (near  Stevenson,  Alabama,  a  short  distance  south  of  the 
Tennessee  line),  in  form  and  of  materials  similar  to  our  Tennessee  ware;  but  the 
painted  decorations  upon  it,  in  strong  red  or  maroon  coloring,  are  artistically  exe- 
cuted, and  are  better  preserved  than  any  ornamental  work  in  colors  we  have  ob- 
served upon  the  ancient  ware  of  Tennessee. 

*  Aboriginal  Remains,  page  60. 

t  Aboriginal  Remains,  page  44. 


THE  ANCIENT  POTTERY. 


139 


these  ancient  village  Indians  in  some  of  the  arts.  In  a  child's  grave 
in  one  of  these  houses,  near  the  large  mound,  Prof.  Putnam  obtained 
the  "water  jar"  represented  in  Fig.  45.  It  is  mounted  on  three 
legs,  the  cavities  of  which  connect  with  the  body  of  the  jar,  while 
the  cross-bars  between  them  are  solid.* 

Ajar  very  similar  in  form  is  illustrated  in   Plate  VIII.     Some- 
what similar  types  are  also  found  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas. 


Fig.  45. — Jak  from  House  within  the  Lebanon  Works.J 

Prof.  Putnam  also  found  within  the  inclosure,  near  Lebanon, 
Tennessee,  the  tine  jar  (Fig.  46)  representing  a  badger  or  some  other 
clumsy  animal.     It  is  of  a  yellow  clay  color,  and   when  found  was 

*  Eleventh  Annual  Report  Peabody  Museum  (Putnam),  page  35(5. 
t  Contributions  to  Archteology  of  Missouri,  Plate  IV;  Reports  Bureau  of  Eth- 
nology, Vol.  IV,  ])age  420. 

+  Peabody  ^luseum,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 


140 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


painted  with  a  number  of  concentric  figures,  but  they  soon  faded 
and  became  indistinct.* 

Jars  of  this  form  are  rare  in  Tennessee.  They  have  occasion- 
ally been  found  in  the  pottery  districts  west  of  the  Mississippi.  A 
fine  specimen  is  illustrated  in  Plate  IX. 

Examples  of  ancient  Tennessee  pottery  of  the  bowl  and  kettle 
form  (one-fifth  actual  diameters)  are  shown  in  Plate  VI.  (Author's 
collection.)      Nearly  all   of   them    were    obtained   from   the   stone 


Fig.  46. — Vessel  from  Lebanon  Works  (One-third). t 

graves  of  the  Noel  cemetery.  A  larger  number  of  these  vessels  of 
various  shapes  might  have  been  presented  in  the  photo-engraving, 
but  only  a  limited  selection  of  standard  patterns  were  placed  in  the 
group,  to  avoid  confusion  of  outlines.  The  kettle-shaped  vessels 
found  in  Tennessee  vary  in  size  from  little  toys  an  inch  wide  to 
large  pots  a  yard  in  diameter.  The  set  of  bowls  on  the  right  is 
made   of    excellent   well-burned   ware.      Most    of   them    are   sym- 


*  Eleventh  Annual  Report  Peabody  Museum,  page  359. 
t  Peabody  Museum. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY.  141 

metrical  to  exactness.  They  are  polished  within  and  without,  and 
some  of  them  are  as  hard  as  modern  stoneware. 

The  largest  bowls  in  this  form  are  about  twelve  inches  in  diam- 
eter, AVell-made  vessels  in  imitation  of  sea  shells  are  frequently- 
found.  Since  this  engraving  was  made,  we  obtained  from  the  ISToel 
cemetery  a  double  shell  with  delicate  flaring  edges,  much  more 
artistically  made  than  the  double  shell  represented  in  the  picture. 

Tiny  shell  forms  of  pottery  are  also  found.  They  may  have 
been  toys,  or  possibly  the  individual  salt-cellars  of  some  aristocratic 
native. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  painted  figures  on  the  little  light- 


FiG.  47. — Ornamented  Vessel  (One-half).* 

colored  bowl,  and  also  to  the  half-circle  lines  and  ornamentations  on 
the  kettles  in  the  picture  (Plate  VI),  These  indented  lines  are 
very  common  styles  of  decoration.  Some  of  the  work  of  this  class 
has  been  executed  with  considerable  taste  and  skill,  as  is  shown  in 
Fig.  47  from  the  l^oel  cemeter3^ 

The  figure  with  the  pointed  cap  (Plate  VI)  is  unique,  and  is  one 
of  the  most  interesting  objects  yet  discovered  within  the  pottery 
districts  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  It  is  of  rich,  well-finished  ware. 
The  bowl  is  as  symmetrical  as  if  made  on  a  potter's  wheel.  The 
cap  has  a  graceful  tassel  at  the  top,  which  falls  behind.  The  arms 
encircle  the  bowl.     The  feet  and  legs  project  in  front.     The  face 

*  Author's  collection. 


142 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


of  the    original    is    a    better   specimen    of  physiognomy    than    the 
picture  represents. 

The  head  on  the  bowl  or  drinking  cup  to  the  left  is  one  of  the 
best  pieces  of  modeling  in  terra-cotta  from  the  cemeteries  about 
Nashville.  The  features  are  so  obscure  in  the  photo-engraving  that 
we  have  had  a  separate  engraving  made  of  it  (Fig.  48).  The  cap  or 
helmet  is  a  good  example  of  this  style  of  head  gear.  It  is  so  fre- 
quently observed  on  the  pottery  heads  from  the  graves  that  it  must 


Fig.  48. — The  Head  or  Handle  of  Terra  Cotta  Bowl  (Three-fifths).* 

have  been  one  of  the  familiar  costumes  of  the  Stone  Grave  race. 
The  graceful  form  of  this  fine  dark  bowl  may  be  seen  in  the  little 
outline  sketch. 

These  ornamental  handles  to  vessels,  modeled  in  imitation  of  the 
human  head,  are  a  specialty  of  the  ancient  pottery  of  Middle  Ten- 
nessee. They  are  found  in  Southern  Kentucky,  Illinois,  and  else- 
where within  the  Middle  Mississippi  district,  but  we  think  not  in 
such  numbers,  and  probably  not  of  equal  artistic  merit.  Earthen- 
ware bowls,  with  head  handles  of  the  same  general  form,  are  also 

*  Author's  collection. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY. 


143 


found  among  the  ruins  of  Central  America.*     Other  pottery  han- 
dles of  this  form  are  illustrated  in  Fig.  49. 

The  head  with  the  hat  and  tassel  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
"  man  bowl,"  in  Plate  VI.  The  larger  head  on  the  right  is  hollow, 
and  is  filled  with  clay  pellets.  When  shaken,  they  sound  like  a 
child's   rattle.     It   forms  the  handle   to   a   large  bowl  about  eight 


Fig.  49. — Terra  Cotta  Heads — Handles  of  Drinking  Cups  (Three-fifths). t 

inches  in  diameter.  Pottery  heads  and  head  handles,  filled  with 
pellets,  are  occasionally  found.  It  was  doubtless  a  fancy  of  the  old 
pottery  makers  to  manufacture  them  in  this  way.  Unfortunately, 
many  a  fine  head  has  been  broken  or  bored  into,  from  mere  idle 
curiosity,  to  find  what  treasures  it  contained.     Vessels  with  hollow 


*  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World  (Charney),  page  443. 
t  Author's  collection. 


144 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


handles,  fashioned  in  imitation  of  bird  heads  and  other  grotesque 
forms,  and  filled  with  clay  pellets,  are  also  found  in  the  Missouri 
pottery  district,  but  they  are  usually  not  so  artistically  executed  as 
our  Tennessee  specimens.* 

The  same  idea  is  illustrated  in  the  ancient  earthenware  of 
Mexico  and  Chiriqui,  where  rattling  clay  pellets  are  found  in  the 
grotesque  figures  or  legs  of  the  tripods  and  vessels  of  pottery.f 

Some  of  the  drinking  cups  of  this  reddish  brown  ware  are  or- 
namented with  lines  skillfully  drawn  or  cut  around  the  border,  as 
represented  in  Fig.  50.     The  same  beautiful  scroll  pattern  will  be 


Fig.  50. — A  Dkinking  Cup  (One-third). t 

found  on  some  of  the  engraved  shell  gorgets  from  the  graves  of  the 
E^ashville  district. 

An  almost  exact  duplicate  of  this  vessel  from  Perry  county, 
Missouri,  with  the  same  tracing  upon  the  border  (in  the  collection 
of  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences),  was  unfortunately  destroyed 
in  the  great  fire  at  Chicago  of  1871. || 

The  handles  of  the  bowls  and  cups  are  often  modeled  in  imi- 
tation of  animal  and  grotesque  forms,  somewhat  after  the  fashion 

*  Five  of  them  are  illustrated  in  Plate  15  of  Contributions  to  the  Archaeology  of 
Missouri.     See  also  page  27. 

t  Native  Races  (Bancroft),  Vol.  IV,  pages  19,  388;  Ancient  Art  of  Chiriqui  (W. 
H.  Holmes),  page  98. 

X  Author's  collection. 

II  See  illustration  in  Prehistoric  Races  (Foster),  page  246.  Similar  ornamental 
lines  are  found  on  Arkansas  ware. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY. 


145 


of  ancient  Peruvian  ware.  The  heads  of  ducks,  owls,  bats,  dogs, 
foxes,  bears,  and  even  the  entire  bodies  of  animals,  are  sometimes 
represented  in  these  handles,  though,  like  many  of  the  little  heads 
of  terra-cotta  found  in  Mexico,  they  are  usually  broken  from  the 


Fig.  51. — Terra  Cotta  Bowi.  Handles  (One-halfj.* 

vessels  and  images,  and  are  found  as  fragments.  Examples  of  these 
head-handles  and  forms  are  shown  in  Fig.  51.  Some  of  them  are 
very  spirited,  and,  like  the  human  heads  in  clay,  are  executed  with 
considerable  fidelity  to  nature. 


Fig.  52. — A  Chicken-head  Buwl  Handle  (Two-thirds).® 


It  is  quite  certain  that  the  mound  builders  of  Tennessee  must 
have  been  a  sedentary  and  agricultural  people,  as  the  pottery  bowl- 
head  illustrated  in  Fig.  52  shows  that  they  had  chickens.  The 
pottery  makers  have  imitated  some  old  rooster's  comb  in  a  very 
creditable  way. 

*  Author's  collection. 
10 


146 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


Head-handle  bowls  and  grotesque  ornamentations  are  also 
found  among  the  ancient  ware  from  the  burial  mounds  of  Arkansas. 
Fine  examples  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  53. 

These  two  vessels  were  recently  discovered  in  a  mound,  near 
ITodena,  Arkansas,  upon  the  plantation  of  our  friend,  James  B. 
Craighead,  Esq.,  who  kindly  sent  them  to  us  for  examination. 
^Nfodena  is  on  the  Mississippi  river,  in  the  center  of  the  ancient  pot- 
tery district  of  North-eastern  Arkansas.  The  types  illustrated  are 
rare;  a  little  turtle  is  basking  upon  one  end  of  the  head-bowl.  The 
pointed  cap  was  also  fashionable  in  Tennessee.  Four  lizards  orna- 
ment the  other  bowl.     This  pottery  has   not  been  so  well  burned 


/<*>_  vrrr-, 


Fig.  53. — Arkansas  Pottery  (One-third).* 

and  finished  as  our  best  stone  grave  ware,  but  it  is  of  the  same  gen- 
eral character. 

It  seems  also  that  there  were,  probably,  dogs  in  ancient  Ten- 
nessee, a  fact  tolerably  well  authenticated  by  one  of  these  pottery 
cup  handles  (Fig.  54),  representing  a  dog,  or  perhaps  a  bear  or 
panther,  holding  a  bone  or  stick  in  his  mouth  and  paws.  The  cup 
is  nearly  perfect,  and  is  of  fine,  well-burned  ware,  from  the  Noel 
cemetery.  If  intended  to  represent  a  dog,  the  prehistoric  canine 
could  not  have  been  an  ordinary  cur  of  low  pedigree,  such  as  be- 
longed to  the  Indian  from  immemorial  times,  but  a  respectable  full 
grown  mastiff'  or  bull  dog. 


*  J.  B.  Craishead  collection. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY. 


147 


Since  the  last  paragraph  was  written,  we  have  obtained  from 
the  Noel  cemetery  the  perfect  and  graceful  little  bowl,  illustrated  in 
Fig.  55,  representing  the  same  idea.  A  frog  or  some  grotesque  ani- 
mal grasping  a  stick  forms  the  handle.     The  toad  or  frog  was  the 


Fig.  54. — Handle  to  Drinicing  Cup  (Three-fifths).* 

totem  of  one  of  the  families  of  the  Creeks,  Such  conceits  in  art, 
so  well  executed,  will  be  a  surprise  even  to  archaeologists,  especially 
to  those  who  fail  to  bear  in  mind  the   intuitive  artistic  faculty  that 


Fig.  55. — Artistic  Bowl  Handle  (One-half).* 

belonsrs    to  some  of   the  native  tribes,   and  their  natural  capacity 
for  progress  toward  civilization,  under  favorable  conditions. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Holmes,  curator  of  pottery  of  the  National  Museum, 
in    considering   "  the   forms  and   ornaments   in   ceramic   arts "    in 

*  Author's  collection. 


148 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


ancient  America,  states  that  the  same  idea  is  well  expressed  in  the 
handles  of  wooden  bowls  from  Alaska.  A  beaver  grasping  a  bone 
or  stick  in  his  mouth  and  paws  forms  the  handle  of  the  bovW. 

He  reports  that  a  similar  pottery  bowl-handle  has  been  found 
in  the  mound  district  of  Arkansas.*  If  these  unusual  and  peculiar 
forms  and  expressions  of  art  can  not  be  regarded  as  evidences  of 
ancient  intercourse  or  contact  between  these  distant  sections,  they 
are,  at  least,  remarkable  coincidences. 

The  animal  represented  in  pottery,  Fig.  56,  was  probably  de- 


FiG.  56. — Animal  Head  (Two-thirds).! 

signed  to  imitate  a  wolf  or  panther,  as  an  efib/*t  was  evidently  made, 
and  with  some  success,  to  show  its  large  teeth  and  give  it  a  fierce 
expression.  It  is  well  burned,  and  is  still  stained  with  its  original 
red  paint.  The  head  probably  belonged  to  a  full  clay  figure  of  the 
animal,  as  it  shows  no  evidence  of  having  been  the  handle  to  a 
vessel,  and  it  is  larger  than  the  heads  used  for  that  purpose. 

Plate  VII  presents  a  photo-engraving  of  a  group  of  pottery 
from  the  graves,  of  fish  and  animal  forms,  one-fourth  diameters 
(author's  collection).  These  were  familar  models  of  the  old  pottery 
makers,  especially  the  sun-fish  and  the  frog.     The  latter  were  favor- 

*  Keports  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Vol.  VI,  page  451. 
t  Johnson  collection. 


1^ 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY. 


149 


ite  family  names  or  emblems  of  the  southern  tribes.  Similar 
forms  are  also  found  in  Arkansas  and  Missouri.  The  uniform 
thinness  and  regularity  of  the  walls,  the  careful  burning,  the  ex- 
actness of  outlines,  and  the  glossy  finish  of  some  of  these  vessels, 
show  considerable  artistic  skill.  As  the  little  turtle-bowl  on  the 
left  is  an  unusual   type,  separate  engravings  of    it   are   presented 


Fig.  57. — Turtle  Bowl  from  Cemetery  near  Nashville  (One-half).* 


(Fig.  57),  showing  its  outside  and  inside  forms.  The  engravings, 
unfortunately,  are  stiff,  and  lack  the  graceful  lines  of  the  original. 
It  will  be  observed  that  many  of  the  bowls  (Plate  VII)  are 
pierced  with  holes  for  suspension.  Some  of  them  were  probably 
vessels  for  cooking,  and  others  were  doubtless  used  as  hanging  ves- 
sels in  the  ancient  homes,  and  may  have  contained  condiments, 
tattoo  paints,  bear's  oil,  or  articles  of  daily  use  or  for  the  toilet. 

*  Author's  collection. 


150  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

De  Soto's  Spanish  chroniclers  report  that  they  found  the  resi- 
dence of  one  of  the  native  chiefs  hnng  with  festoons  of  feathers, 
beads,  and  shells.  His  soldiers  were  often  struck  with  the  gay  ap- 
pearance of  the  inside  decorations  of  the  Indian  houses.  In  har- 
vest time,  the  rafters  were  doubtless  lined,  after  the  Indian  fashion, 
with  a  golden  tapestry  of  maize.  From  the  number  of  hanging 
vessels  of  terra  cotta  found,  it  would  seem  as  if  the  ancient  habita- 
tions may  also  have  been  festooned  with  them,  as  well  as  with 
shells.  Bancroft  tells  us  there  were  many  hanging  ornaments  and 
vessels  in  the  rooms  of  the  Moqul  pueblos.* 

A  number  of  fine  types  of  pottery  are  illustrated  in  Plate  YIII 
(one-fourth  natural  diameters).  All  are  from  the  cemeteries  of 
Middle  Tennessee,  excepting  the  dark  polished  jar,  ornamented 
with  the  scroll  pattern,  which  is  from  Mississippi,  as  its  appear- 
ance indicates.f 

The  three  legged  jug  was  recently  obtained  from  a  stone  grave 
in  a  mound  on  the  George  P.  Allen  farm,  about  six  miles  south- 
west of  Clarksville,  Tennessee.  The  handsome  "  idol  pipe,"  of  ser- 
pentine, illustrated  in  the  next  chapter,  Avas  found  in  an  adjoining 
grave.  The  jug  is  ornamented  with  well-painted  circles,  but  they 
have  faded,  and  were  very  indistinct  in  the  photograph.  The  light 
colored  "water  jug,"  with  the  elaborate  head-dress,  is  from  a 
grave  in  the  Byser  farm  cemetery,  on  White's  creek,  near  j^ash- 
ville.  Many  fine  objects  have  been  obtained  from  this  ancient  set- 
tlement. 

The  other  vessels  in  Plate  VIII  are  from  the  ]^oel  cemetery. 
They  are  all  fine  pieces  of  ware,  especially  the  bowl-shaped  ves- 
sels. The  little  cup  with  the  excellent  face  has  a  hole  in  the 
pointed  cap,  for  hanging.  We  have  had  separate  engravings  made 
of  the  finely  executed  medallion  bowl,  to  show  its  grace  and  ex- 

*  Native  Races,  Vol.  IV,  page  668. 

t  The  Mississippi  jar  and  the  light  "water  jug"  with  the  label  on  it  belong  to 
the  fine  collection  of  the  Tennessee  Historical  Society,  at  Nashville.  The  lower 
bowl  with  the  medallion  faces  is  from  Mr.  Otto  Giers's  collection.  The  remaining 
seven  pieces  are  from  the  author's  collection. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY, 


151 


actness.     Vessels  with  rude  medallion  faces  have  been  found  in  the 
mounds  of  Arkansas,*  but  not  of  this  form,  or  so  artistically  mod- 


FiG.  58. — Medallion  Bowl  (One-fourth). t 

The   interesting  man,  or  "leg  bowl,"  is  an  excellent  piece  of 
ware — well   formed  and    perfect.      Its  design   is  a  curious  conceit. 


Fig.  59. — Terra  Cotta  Bowl  (One-third). J 

A  vessel  of  similar  form,  from  a  small  cemetery  near  the  Cumber- 
land river,  five  miles  west  of  IS'ashville,  is  also  illustrated  (Fig.  59) 
to  present  another  view  of  this  peculiar  type.     It  must  have  been 

*  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Vol.  IV,  page  414. 

t  Otto  Giers  collection. 

t  Author's  collection.  Mr.  Frank  Morrow,  of  Nashville,  has  in  his  poBsession  a 
similar  bowl,  a  little  larger;  and  there  is  another  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  Warren 
Moorehead,  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  from  the  Missouri  mound  district.  The 
latter  is  somewhat  larger  than  the  specimen  illustrated,  and,  as  we  remember  it,  is  a 
little  more  rudely  molded.  The  vessel  represented  in  Fig.  59  was  obtained  from  a 
stone  grave  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Dosier. 


152  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

a  clumsy  and  inconvenient  bowl,  but  like  some  of  the  more  civil- 
ized native  tribes  of  America,  these  old  villagers  of  the  Cumberland 
valley  were  sometimes  more  devoted  to  the  grotesque  in  art  than 
to  practical  convenience. 

Since  Plate  VIII  was  engraved,  the  writer  has  obtained  more 
than  a  hundred  new  specimens  of  pottery  from  the  Foel  cemetery, 
and  other  burial  grounds  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  l^ashville, 
many  of  them  types  of  special  interest.  A  number  of  them  are 
presented  in  Plate  IX. 

The  light  clay-colored  ware,  and  the  dark,  rich,  reddish  brown 
ware,  the  specialty  of  the  l^ashville  district,  appear  in  contrast  in 
the  photo-engraving.  The  decorations  upon  the  light  specimens 
can  also  be  plainly  seen.  The  central  figure  of  the  plate  is  unique. 
This  nondescript  animal  is  eight  and  a  half  inches  long;  the  ves- 
sel is  nine  inches  high.  The  circles  and  lines  with  which  it  is 
ornamented  have  evidently  been  painted  by  a  skillful  and  ex- 
perienced hand.  It  was  taken  from  a  stone  grave  on  the  Bosley 
farm,  about  four  miles  west  of  jN'ashville  (in  January,  1890),  by  Mr. 
Ed.  Carlton,  from  whom  we  obtained  it.*  The  body  and  legs  are 
fashioned  somewhat  like  the  badger  or  bear  jar  figure  discovered 
by  Prof.  Putnam  within  the  earth-works  of  Lebanon.  In  its  day  and 
generation  this  fine  vessel  doubtless  occupied  a  conspicuous  place 
upon  the  dining  floor  or  sideboard  of  some  old  mound  builder's  resi- 
dence. Were  it  not  for  its  canine  head,  and  the  suggestive  curl  of  its 
tail,  its  otherwise  elephantine  form  might  pose  before  "  the  scien- 
tists "  as  a  mastodon.  The  truth  requires  us  to  state,  however, 
that  a  fat,  waddling  Indian  dog  was  probably  the  animal  that 
suggested  this  design. f  A  somewhat  similar  figure  in  pottery,  with 
the  head,  face,  and  curled  tail  of  a  dog,   apparently  of  the  same 

*  Prof.  F.  W.  Putnam  and  Major  J.  W.  Powell  conducted  explorations  upon  this 
farm  in  1877,  and  discovered  many  fine  vessels  of  pottery  and  interesting  remains  of 
stone  and  shell. 

t  Among  the  modern  Indians,  dog  feasts  were  quite  common.  Perhaps  the 
dogs  were  fattened  for  the  occasion.     We  are  told  that  they  made  Hendrick  Hudson 


THE  ANCIENT  POTTERY.  153 

pug-nosed  pedigree,  was  found  in  the  New  Madrid  mound  district 
of  Missouri,  and  is  illustrated  m  the  Archaeology  of  Missouri,  pub- 
lished by  the  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Science  (Plate  IX),  but  the 
latter  is  not  so  well  formed  or  so  artistically  decorated.  A  dog's 
head  also  appears  upon  a  bowl  in  Plate  TX.  These  heads  give  us 
a  tolerably  accurate  representation  of  the  pre-historic  canine.  The 
type  does  not  appear  to  diiier  much  from  the  modern  dogs  of  the 
Cherokees  and  other  tribes. 

Mr.  Frank  Morrow,  of  Kashville  has  in  his  collection  of  pot- 
tery a  bowl  with  a  dog's  head  handle,  and  in  the  wide-spread  jaws 
of  the  dog  there  is  a  small,  rudely  molded  human  head. 

So  far  as  we  can  learn,  the  dog  was  the  only  domestic  animal 
possessed  by  the  native  tribes  of  Xorth  America  prior  to  the  Co- 
lumbian discovery.  The  South  Americans  had  also  the  llama,  a 
patient  animal,  very  useful  as  a  beast  of  burden.  The  first  horses 
and  cattle  came  with  the  Spanish  conquerers.  Unfortunately,  the 
aborigines  of  early  ages  Avere  without  these  civilizing  agencies. 
Their  presence  would  doubtless  have  contributed  greatly  to  advance 
the  condition  of  society  in  ancient  America. 

The  two  images  in  Plate  IX  must  originally  have  been  deco- 
rated with  some  taste  and  skill,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  traces 
of  painting  still  visible.  The  hands  of  the  larger  figure  are  well 
molded  in  relief.  The  hands  of  the  small  image  are  painted.  Both 
images  are  hollow,  and  have  openings  at  the  backs  of  the  heads. 
The  large  handsome  "fish  bowl"  is  nine  inches  long.  Vessels  of 
this  form  are  very  numerous  in  the  graves,  notwithstanding  the 
heads,  tails,  and  fins  upon  some  of  them,  must  have  rendered  them 
inconvenient  for  practical  use.  Doubtless,  the  fish  was  a  totem,  or 
family  or  tribal  emblem.  Both  the  Creeks  and  Chiekasaws  had  a 
"fish"  family,  or  clan  in  their  organizations.*  The  Creeks  had 
also  a  family  branch  named  after  the  toad  or  frog,  as  stated.* 

welcome,  on  his  first  visit  to  the  Hudson  river,  by  "  killing  a  fat  dog."  The  form  of 
this  vessel  was,  therefore,  very  appropriate. — Collections  New  York  Historical  So- 
ciety, Vol.  I,  Second  Series,  page  198. 

*  Ancient  Society  (Morgan),  pages  161,  163. 


154 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


The  handsome  eagle  bowl,  in  Plate  IX,  will  also  be  noticed,  and 
the  large  center  bowl  (ten  and  one-fourth  inches  long)  on  the  lower 
line,  with  the  finely  formed  head  handle.  The  latter  is  full  of  rat- 
tling little  pellets.     We  have  not  seen  a  finer  specimen  of  the  pot- 


FiG.  60. — Pottery  Head  from  Large  Bowl  (One-half).* 

ter's  or  molder's  art  among  the  ancient  ware  of  the  Mississippi  val- 
ley. The  face  and  head  are  very  finely  formed.  The  pointed  cap 
has  a  long  tassel  that  falls  gracefully  behind  in  a  double  fold. 
Another  of  these  very  finely  molded  bowl  heads,  with  a  strong  and 
almost  handsome'  face,  is  rudely  illustrated  in  Fig.  60. 


Fig.  61. — Ornamented  Bowl  (One-third).! 

As  the  oblong  bowl,  with  an  ornamented  rim,  is  but  poorly  rep- 
resented in  the  plate,  we  present  a  better  illustration  of  its  form  in 
Fig.  61.     It  is  a  very  symmetrical  and  graceful  piece  of  ware. 

*  Historical  Society  collection. 
T  Author's  collection. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY.  155 

There  may  be  old  or  modern  vessels  of  pottery  from  the  pueblo 
districts  equaling  some  of  these  highest  standard  types  from  the 
stone  graves  of  Tennessee,  but  they  have  not  come  under  our  ob- 
servation. 

The  tiny  bowls  and  jars  (Plate  IX)  were  probably  used  as  toys,  or 
may  have  served  some  useful  purposes.  They  are  well  molded,  and 
as  hard  as  the  large  ware.  The  other  vessels  illustrated  in  the  plate 
will  show  some  of  the  unusual  types.  It  would  be  impossible, 
within  a  single  volume,  to  present  illustrations  of  all  the  interesting 
vessels  and  images  in  the  local  collections. 

The  excellent  photo-engravings  presented,  give  a  softer  and 
more  finished  appearance  to  this  ware,  perhaps,  than  it  merits,  as 
they  sometimes  relieve  the  coarseness  of  the  materials,  and  allow 
the  graces  of  form  full  effect,  but  they  show  the  objects  with  photo- 
graphic fidelity.  We  have  seen  no  pottery  from  Missouri  or  Arkan- 
sas of  superior  quality,  and  very  little  from  those  sections  equaling 
it;  neither  have  the  elaborate  mounds  or  the  ancient  cemeteries  (.)f 
the  Ohio  valley  yielded  pottery  so  well  made,  and  with  such  graces 
of  form,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  judge  from  the  best  speci- 
mens observed  in  the  various  archaeological  collections  in  Cincinnati 
and  elsewhere.* 

■•■•  Sir  Daniel  Wilson  and  other  writers  seem  to  have  tlie  impression  that  the 
mound  builders  of  Ohio  were  much  in  advance  of  other  mound  building  tribes  in 
their  knowledge  of  the  ceramic  arts.  This  is  an  error.  The  Ohio  ware  did  not  sur- 
pass the  standard  earthenware  of  other  sections  of  the  mound  area,  and  was  not 
equal  to  some  of  the  pottery  of  the  Central  and  Lower  Mississippi  districts.  Squier 
and  Davis,  in  their  valuable  work  on  the  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  gave  an  illustration  of  an  Ohio  vase  as  evidence  of  an  advanced  state  of  art ; 
but  Dr.  Rau,  the  able  archaeologist  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  who  examined 
the  Squier  and  Davis  collections,  asserts  that  it  was  not  superior  to  the  Cahokia 
creek  pottery  of  Illinois,  the  ordinary  Illinois  and  Missouri  ware. — Smithsonian  Re- 
ports, 18G6,  page  349.  Comparatively  little  pottery  has  been  found  in  the  mounds 
or  ancient  cemeteries  of  Ohio.  A  single  cemetery  near  Nashville,  or  a  single  burial 
mound  of  INIissouri  or  Arkansas,  has  probably  yielded  more  perfect  vessels  of  pot- 
tery than  have  been  discovered  within  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Ohio  since  its  first 
settlement  by  the  whites.  The  fact  that  the  ancient  pottery  of  Ohio  has  disap- 
peared, or  has  generally  crumbled  into  fragments,  is  an  additional  indication  of  its 


156  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

The  vessels  of  pottery  of  each  of  the  various  sections  of  the 
mound  area,  like  the  mounds  of  these  several  districts,  have  their 
marked  and  distinguishing  features.  The  ware  of  Tennessee,  Ar- 
kansas, South-east  Missouri,  and  Southern  Illinois,  and  that  found 
along  some  of  the  water-ways  of  the  lower  Ohio  valley,  is  probably 
of  one  period,  and  of  the  same  tribes,  or  closely  allied  tribes.  Al- 
though the  local  types  differ,  it  is  homogeneous,  and  can  generally 
be  distinguished  from  other  ware.  The  ancient  earthenware  from 
the  Ohio  mounds  is  usually  of  somewhat  coarser  grades  and  simpler 
forms.  Comparatively -few  perfect  vessels  of  pottery  have  been  dis- 
covered in  l^ew  York,  New  England,  the  middle  Atlantic  states, 
and  other  sections  outside  of  the  territory  of  the  mound  builders, 
and  they  are  generally  of  a  rude  character. 

The  ancient  pottery  of  Georgia  and  Florida  is  well  made,  but, 
as  a  class,  the  vessels  discovered  appear  to  be  of  ordinary  types,  and 
not  equal  to  the  best  w^are  found  in  the  Cumberland  valley.  As  we 
approach  the  Lower  Mississippi  district,  the  remains  of  the  ceramic 
arts  improve  in  character.  They  reached  a  state  of  comparatively 
advanced  development  within  the  present  limits  of  the  States  of 
Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Southern  Arkansas.  The  ware  of  this 
general  section  is  homogeneous,  easily  identified,  and  in  finish  and 
ornamentation  appears  to  be  equal  to  that  of  any  other  portion  of 
the  mound  area.  It  is  not  surpassed  by  any  pottery  yet  discovered 
north  or  east  of  Mexico. 

A  group  of  unusually  fine  specimens  of  the  lustrous  black  ware 
of  Mississippi  is  shown  in  Fig.  62. 

The  ornamented  jar  of  this  dark  ware,  in  Plate  VIII,  looks 
like  an  exotic.  It  will  be  readily  recognized  as  a  Lower  Mississippi 
type,  and  shows  us  how  strongly  marked  are  the  characteristics  of 
the  pottery  of  the  difterent  mound  districts. 

These  general  types  in  fact  often  differ  from  each  other  nearly 
as  widely  as  they  differ  from  the  pottery  of  the  pueblos,  yet  they 

inferior  quality,  as  compared  with   some  of  the  -svell-burned  southern  specimens. 
Some  of  the  Tennessee  pottery  seems  as  durable  as  Etruscan  or  Egyptian  ware. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY.  157 

all  unite  in  establishing  the  homogeneous  character  of  the  ware 
of  the  Mississippi  valley. 

The  similarity  of  some  of  the  specimens  of  this  ware  to 
Peruvian  pottery  is  very  remarkable.  The  author  has  but  four 
ancient  vessels  from  the  graves  of  Peru  in  his  collection.  They 
have  peculiar  shapes,  yet  vessels  of  nearly  the  exact  forms  of  three 
of  them  have  been  found  in  the  Middle  Mississippi  district. 

Engraved  sketches  of  these  vessels  will  show  the  similarity  of 
forms.  (Figs.  63,  63a.)  The  vessel  in  the  center  is  also  a  Mexican 
type.  Many  suggestive  coincidences  and  similarities  of  form  might 
be  presented,  showing  analogies  and  traces  of  connection  between 


Fig.  62. — Mississippi  Pottery.* 

the  ancient  ware  manufactured  in  the  pueblo  districts  and  the  pot- 
tery of  the  Mississippi  valley. 

Plate  X  is  a  photo-engraving  of  a  section  of  a  large  earthen- 
ware vessel,  about  thirty-one  inches  in  diameter,  twelve  inches  high, 
and  having  a  capacity  of  twelve  to  tifteen  gallons.  (Author's  col- 
lection.) A  section  of  a  similar  vessel  (on  the  inside)  was  photo- 
graphed, to  show  more  clearly  the  texture  of  the  basket,  matting, 
or  cloth  fabric  in  which  these  large  vessels  were  molded.  The 
little  pot,  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  was  placed  on  the  rim, 
in  contrast 

The  large  vessel  was   found  within  a  few  yards  of  the  "  Sul- 

*  These  vessels  were  obtained  from  a  mound  near  Lake  Washington,  Missis- 
sippi, by  W.  M  Anderson.  The  illustration  is  reproduced  from  Prehistoric  Man 
(Wilson),  Vol.  II,  page  23. 


158 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


pliur  Spring,"  or  the  old  "  Frencli  Lick,"  at  ITasliville,  in  exca- 
vating for  the  foundations  of  the  new  spring  house.  This  sulphur 
and  salt  spring  was  doubtless  the  central  feature  of  a  populous 
aboriginal  settlement  for  centuries.  Extensive  burial  grounds  were 
found  on  both  sides  of  the  "  Lick  Branch,"  and  many  fine  imple- 


FiG  63. — Peruvian  Pottery. "^ 


Fig.  63a. — Vessels  from  Arkansas  and  Missouri. t 


ments  and  specimens  of  earthenware  have  been  obtained  there. 
These  large  vessels,  or  "  salt  pans,"  were  probably  used  in  boiling 
the  saline  water  of  the  spring,  to  make  salt.;}: 

*  Author's  collection. 

t  Fourth  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  pages  418,  422 ;  Archaeology  of 
Missouri,  PJate  23. 

t  The  workmen,  in  excavating,  had  removed  this  large  vessel  a  few  yards  from 
its  original  bed  in  the  bank,  a  short  time  before  the  author  reached  the  spot,  so  that 


THE  ANCIENT  POTTERY.  159 

The  early  white  settlers  also  manufactured  salt  there  in  con- 
siderable quantities.  The  vessels  were  rudely  but  strongly  made, 
being  sometimes  an  inch  thick  below  the  heavy  rims.  Pieces  of 
coarsely  pounded  mussel  shells,  an  inch  long,  are  frequently  mixed 
with  the  clay.  As  will  be  shown  by  the  plate,  the  large  earthen- 
ware pots  or  boilers  were  built  up  or  molded  in  sacks  or  bags  of 
fine  matting  or  cloth,  or  of  some  woven  fabric,  that  has  left  a  last- 
ing impression  on  the  surface  of  the  clay. 

When  the  vessel  was  molded,  it  was  probably  left  standing  or 
was  dried  in  tlie  sun  until  it  was  hard  enough  to  permit  the  re- 
moval of  the  cloth  before  burning.  From  the  fineness  and  regu- 
larity of  the  imprints,  some  of  these  fabrics  must  have  been  skill- 
fully woven.  The  variations  of  the  thread  also  show  that  patched 
or  separate  pieces  of  the  cloth  were  used  to  hold  the  sides  of  the 
vessels  during  the  formative  process.  The  large  kettles  were  not  all 
used  as  "  salt  pans,"  as  we  find  many  sections  and  fragments  of  them 
in  other  aboriginal  cemeteries  near  ITashville.  The  graves  are  fre- 
quently lined  and  covered  with  them,  instead  of  slabs  of  stone. 
They  may  have  been  used  as  sugar  boilers,  or  cooking  kettles,  or  for 
other  purposes  in  the  domestic  economy  of  the  Stone  Grave  race.* 

We  have  accounts,  however,  of  the  use  of  clay  vessels  of  the 
same  character  by  the  pottery  making  tribes  of  Southern  Illinois 
and  Missouri  at  other  saline  springs  in  these  states. f 

he  was  unable  to  ascertain  exact  details  as  to  its  position.  Some  bones  and  frag- 
ments of  similar  vessels  were  found  with  it.  We  are  indebted  to  M.  W.  Woods, 
Esq.,  of  the  Sulphur  Spring  Company,  for  this  fine  specimen. 

■■■■  Hunter,  in  his  account  of  the  modern  tribes  west  of  the  Mississippi,  says : 
"  When  the.se  (pottery)  vessels  are  large,  as  is  the  case  of  the  manufacture  of  sugar, 
they  are  suspended  by  grapevines,  which,  wherever  exposed  to  the  fire,  are  con- 
stantly kept  covered  with  moist  clay.  Sometimes,  however,  the  rims  are  made 
strong,  and  project  a  little  inwardly  quite  around  the  vessel,  so  as  to  admit  of  their 
being  sustained  by  flattened  pieces  of  wood  slid  underneath  these  projections,  and 
extending  across  their  centers." — Hunter's  Manners  and  Customs  of  Indian  Tribes, 
etc.,  page  29G.     Philadelphia,  1823. 

t  Colonel  George  E.  Sellers  (now  of  Chattanooga,  Tennessee),  reported,  in  1859, 
the  discovery  of  similar  large  "  salt  pans  "  at  the  "  salt  springs  "  near  Saline  river,  in 
Southern  Illinois,  a  locality  where  salt  was  formerly  made  by  the  Indians.     '•'  Sev- 


160  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

The  few  large  vessels  discovered,  as  compared  with  the  great 
number  of  small  ones,  was  doubtless  mainly  due  to  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  latter  as  food  and  water  vessels,  in  the  graves ;  yet  it 
also  seems  to  indicate  that  in  prehistoric  times  the  food  may  have 
been  prepared  in  the  big  family  pot,  after  the  communal  fashion, 
and  then  divided  in  the  small  vessels  to  the  many  members  of  the 
household. 

Fragments  of  pottery  ware  of  various  intermediate  sizes  are 
found  in  great  abundance  in  the  ancient  burial  grounds  and  set- 
tlements of  Tennessee,  but  entire  vessels  are  comparatively  rare. 

A  fine  large  pot  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  64. 

Its  greatest  diameter  is  eighteen  inches.  It  is  seventeen  inches 
high,  and  has  four  strong  handles.  The  rim  and  neck  are  orna- 
mented with  "  finger-nail  indentations."  *  In  the  collection  of  the 
Tennessee  Historical  Society,  at  Nashville,  there  is  one  almost 
identical  in  form  and  size,  from  a  mound  in  East  Tennessee.  Mr. 
Otto  Giers  discovered  in  the  Noel  cemetery,  near  Nashville,  a  vessel 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter  in  the  form  of  an   ordinary  flat  dinner 

eral  acres,"  Colonel  Sellers  states,  "are  covered  with  broken  vessels,  and  heaps  of 
clay  and  shells  indicate  that  they  were  made  on  the  spot.  They  presented  the 
shape  of  semi-globular  bowls  with  projecting  rims,  and  measuring  from  thirty 
inches  to  four  feet  across  the  rim,  the  thickness  varying  from  one-half  to  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch.  This  earthenware  had  evidently  been  modeled  in  baskets. 
The  impressions  on  the  outside  are  very  regular  and  really  ornamental,  proving 
that  these  aboriginal  potters  were  also  skillful  basket  makers." — Smithsonian  Re- 
ports, 1866. 

Brackenridge  (Views  of  Louisiana,  1814)  states :  "  The  saline  below  St.  Gene- 
vieve, Missouri,  cleared  out  some  time  ago  and  deepened,  was  found  to  contain 
wagon-loads  of  earthenware,  some  fragments  bespeaking  vessels  as  large  as  a  barrel, 
and  proving  that  the  salines  had  been  worked  before  they  were  known  to  the 
whites."  Du  Pratz  mentions  a  locality  in  Louisiana  where  the  aborigines  collected 
salt  in  earthen  vessels  made  on  the  spot,  before  they  had  been  supplied  with  kettles 
of  metal  by  the  French. — Du  Pratz,  Vol.  I,  page  307.  And  the  Knight  of  Elvas  also 
describes  the  method  of  making  salt  employed  by  the  natives  at  the  saline  springs 
of  Arkansas  in  De  Soto's  time  (a.  d.  1541). 

'•■■  Fourth  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  page  397.  We  are  indebted  to 
Major  Powell  for  an  electrotype  of  this  fine  illustration. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY, 


161 


plate,  a  very  unusual  variety.  It  must  have  been  a  strong  piece  of 
ware  to  have  done  service  in  that  form.  The  skeleton  was  resting 
upon  it  when  found. 

The  stone  grave  cemeteries  of  Tennessee  have  yielded  many 
other  objects  of  pottery — pipes,  trowels,  implements,  beads,  paint 
cups,  discs,  totems,  toys,  amulets,  and  other  articles — some  of  them 
unique  and  of  much  interest. 


Fig.  64. — Large  Vessel  of  JPotteky  ^Hale's  Point,  Tennessee). 

Fig.  65  represents  some  of  the  clay  trowels,  or  smoothers,  used 
in  molding  and  manufacturing  vessels  of  pottery.  They  are  often 
found  with  the  large  ware,  and  seem  especially  fitted  for  this  pur- 
pose. In  fact,  it  is  difficult  to  assign  them  to  any  other  duty. 
Their  troweling  surfaces  are  circular  and,  therefore,  unfitted  for 
smoothing  skins.  They  are  curved  according  to  size,  the  smaller 
trowels  being  the  most  curved,  to  suit  the  circular  sides  of  the 
small  vessels,  and  the  largest  sizes  being  nearly  flat,  to  fit  the  curves 
11 


162 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


of  the  large  vessels,  boilers  or  salt-pans.  The  handles  are  evidently 
shaped  to  be  held  conveniently  in  the  hand  m  molding.  The  illus- 
tration scarcely  does  justice  to  these  interesting  little  implements. 

A  few  years  ago,  two  smoothing  Implements  or  discs  of  very 
hard  pottery,  with  handles  resembling  flat-iron  handles,  were  dis- 
covered in  the  large  stone  grave  cemetery  on  White's  creek,  about 
five  miles  north  of  IS'ashville  (the  Byser  cemetery).  They  were  pre- 
sented to  the  Tennessee  Historical  Society  and  are  now  in  its  col- 
lection. 

Upon  examining  them,  we  supposed  they  might  have  been 
used  for  smoothing  skins  or  some  mechanical  purposes.  The  larger 
one,  about  four  inches  in  diameter,  had  too  flat  a  surface  to  trowel. 


Fig.  65. — Pottery  Implements — Small  Trowels. 

or  smooth  the  circular  sides  of  even  the  largest  vessels.  Dr.  Joseph 
Jones  also  found  one,  and  described  it  as  an  implement  "  probably 
used  for  crushing  parched  corn  and  beans,  or  for  dressing  and 
smoothing  hides."  *  But  a  short  time  since,  however  (January, 
1890),  old  "Uncle  Arthur,"  one  of  our  exploring  "  experts,"  found 
five  of  these  "  smoothers"  in  one  stone  grave  in  a  cemetery,  adjoin- 
ing or  near  the  Noel  cemetery,  and  on  seeing  them,  we  at  once  dis- 
covered their  true  character,  or  what  we  regard  as  their  true 
character,  and  pronounced  them  plastering  trowels. 

The  two  largest,  six  inches  in  diameter  and  circular  in  form, 
have  been  already  illustrated  in  the  chapter  upon  the  houses  of  the 
mound  builders.     Two  of  the  smaller  ones  are  shown  in  Fig.  66. 


*  Aboriginal  Remains,  page  143. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY. 


163 


\ 


One  has  a  flat  oval  smoothing  surface,  and  is  five  and  one-half 
inches  long.  The  other  is  disc  shaped,  and  about  four  inches  in 
diameter. 

These  implements  are  evidently  not  suitable  for  pestles  or 
corn-pounders,  and  the  large  ones  are  apparently  too  heavy  for 
smoothing  or  dressing  hides.  We  do  not  think  we  can  be  mistaken 
in  their  use.  A  class  of  implements  entirely  different  in  form  were 
used  in  crushing  corn,  and  will  be  illustrated  hereafter. 

From  the  well-known  mortuary  custom  prevailing  among 
the  Indians,  of  burying  their  worldly  treasures  with  the  dead,  it 
seems  reasonably  clear  that  these  five  implements  were  the  tools  or 
outfit  of  a  plasterer  whose  remains  were  buried  with  them.     The 


Fig.  66. — Plastering  Trowels  (Two-fifths).* 

clay  of  which  they  are  made  has  a  surface  finish  as  hard  as  stone, 
yet  some  of  them  are  considerably  worn,  showing  that  they  were 
probably  used  upon  a  harder  and  more  wearing  material  than  hides 
or  skins. f 

"VVe  have  no  knowledge  of  the  discovery  of  similar  implements 
in  other  pottery  districts.  We,  therefore,  regard  the  information 
furnished  by  this  set  of  old  trowels  as  of  much  archaeological  value. 
Tools  of  the  same  general  character  were  doubtless  used  in  building 


*  Author's  collection. 

t  Upon  examining  these  trowels  closely,  we  find  a  thin  film  of  smooth,  hard- 
pressed,  red  clay  adhering  to  the  original  hard-burned  pottery  surfaces  of  some  of 
them,  which  offers  additional  evidence  of  their  use  as  plastering  trowels. 


164 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


or  finishing  the  clay  plastered,  grouting,  and  adobe  houses  in  Ar- 
kansas and  other  sections. 

The  little  terra-cotta  rattle,  Fig.  67,  was  found  by  young 
Ormsby  Johnson  in  the  stone  grave  of  a  child  near  the  Noel  ceme- 
tery. It  was  w^ell  burned,  but  was  slightly  fractured  in  digging. 
The  hard  clay  pellets  found  inside  of  it,  and  represented  in  the  little 


Fig  67. — Child's  Rattle  Found  near  Nashville  (One-half), 

pyramid,  may  have  quieted  many  an  urchin  in  prehistoric  days. 
There  is  a  hole  in  the  end  for  suspension.  Similar  rattles  are  found 
among  the  remains  of  ancient  Mexico.  Tylor,  in  his  Anahuac, 
siiys  :  "  The  terra-cotta  rattles  in  the  Museum  of  Mexico  are  very 
characteristic.  They  have  little  balls  in  them,  which  shake  about, 
and  they  puzzle  us  as  much  as  the  apple  dumpling  did  King 
George,  for  we  could  not  make  out  very  easily  how  the  balls  got 


Fig.  68. — The  Marbles  They  Played  with  (One-third).* 

inside.  They  were  probably  attached  very  slightly  to  the  inside, 
and  so  baked,  and  then  broken  loose  "f — a  piece  of  scientific 
reasoning  scarcely  up  to  the  standard  of  George  III! 

It  seems  the  boys,  or  the  men,  probably,  played  marbles  in  pre- 
historic days,  as  thirteen  well-burned  marbles,  or  pottery  balls,  were 

®  Author's  collection. 

t  Quoted  by  H.  H.  Bancroft. —  Native  Races,  Vol.  IV,  page  557. 


THE  ANCIENT  POTTERY.  165 

recently  found  lying  together  by  W.  W.  Dosier,  in  a  stone  grave  at 
Clees  Ferry,  a  few  miles  west  of  Nashville.  Some  of  them  are  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  68.  We  did  not  notice  any  "  white  alley "  in  the 
lot.  It  may  have  been  won  by  some  other  fellow.  Marbles  or 
round  balls  of  pottery  and  stone  are  frequently  found  in  the  graves, 
but  so  many  have  not  been  heretofore  found  together.  If  not 
used  as  marbles,  they  were  probably  some  kind  of  gaming  balls. 

Fig.  69,  representing  a  turtle,  is  not  nearly  so  spirited  as  the 
terra-cotta  original  (ISToel  cemetery,  author's  collection). 

This  little  object  of  rich  brown  ware  was  probably  a  totem  or 
badge  of  an  Indian  family  or  gens.     The  turtle  was  a  favorite  fam- 


FiG.  69.— Terra  Cotta  Turtle. 

ily  emblem  among  the  modern  Indians.  It  is  fcnuid  in  their  rude 
picture  writings,  and  graven  on  pipes  and  shells.  It  is  the  model 
for  some  of  the  animal  mounds  of  the  north.  The  turtle  was  also 
a  favorite  animal  figure  among  the  ancient  Mexicans.  It  is  found 
among  the  pottery  remains  in  the  graves,  and  also  in  stone.  In  the 
National  Museum  of  Mexico,  there  are  "  little  stone  turtles  perfectly 
carved,"  *  and  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution  there  is  a  fine  speci- 
men, carved  in  stone,  from  New  Mexico. f 

The  serpent  totem,  illustrated  in  Fig.  70,  is  rather  rudely 
molded  in  blue  grey  clay.  It  is  about  two  and  a  half  inches  in 
diameter.  It  was  plowed  up  about  nine  miles  north  of  Nashville, 
and  not  far  from  the  ancient  works  of  Sumner  county,  where  the  in- 

*  Native  Races  (Bancroft),  Vol.  IV,  pages  590,  601. 
t  Smithsonian  Report,  18S6,  Part  II,  page  108. 


166  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

scribed  stone,  with  the  double  serpent  emblem,  was  discovered. 
The  head  was  broken  by  the  plow,  l»ut  has  been  restored.  The 
serpent  appears  to  have  figured  in  the  mythology  of  most  of  the 
native  American  tribes,  nomadic  and  semi-civilized.  Some  of  the 
great  earth-works  are  built  in  its  form.  It  is  the  figure  very 
frequently  found  upon  the  shell  gorgets  from  the  graves  and 
mounds  of  Tennessee.  A  very  spirited  antique  in  pottery  from 
Mexico,  representing  a  coiled  serpent,  may  be  seen  in  the  collection 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington.* 


Fig.  70. — A.  Serpent  Totem  (Two-thirds). t 

H.  H.  Bancroft  tells  us  that  numberless  little  figures  of  animals 
in  terra-cotta  are  to  be  seen  in  the  museums  of  Mexico — birds,  dogs, 
and  serpents,  and  small  idols  of  clay  and  stone,  and  that  "  many  of 
these  small  images  and  figures  were  doubtless  worn  suspended 
round  the  neck  or  hung  on  the  walls  of  houses,  as  several  were 
pierced  with  holes  for  cords."  X 

As  will  be  observed,  similar  customs  must  have  prevailed  in 
ancient  Tennessee,  as  a  very  large  number  of  the  small  pottery  ob- 
jects, images,  vessels,  birds,  animals,  and  totems  are  pierced  with 
holes— an  analogy  of  some  siguificance. 

Fig.  71  represents  a  little  terra  cotta  bat,  or  some  not  very  well 

*  Archfeological  Collections  (Rau),  Smithsonian  Institution,  page  87. 

t  W.  D.  Buchanan  collection. 

t  Native  Races,  Vol.  IV,  pages  545,  555. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY. 


167 


identified  animal  (one-half) ;  also,  a  little  toj  bird  or  amulet  (actual 
size) 

The  little  group  (Fig.  72)  represents  a  cunning  little  image  of 


Fig.  71. — Small  Tkrra  Cotta  Figures. 


Fig.  72. — Ear-rings  and  Images  or  Amulets. 


Fig.  73. — Terra  Cotta  Ear-ring  (Actual  Size). 

fine  terra  cotta,  well  burned  and  finished  (actual  size) ;  also,  a  gro- 
tesque head  (one-half  size),  an  ''ear-bob,"  and  an  ear-ring  of  well- 


*  Author's  collection. 


168 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


finished  terra  cotta  ware.  A  larger  ear-ring  of  well-glossed  pottery 
is  shown  in  Fig.  73  (author's  collection).  We  have  a  number  of 
these  ear-rings  with  holes  for  hanging.  They  have  a  familiar  ap- 
pearance, and  are  not  unlike  the  large  metal  rings  worn  in  modern 
society.  All  are  from  the  ISToel  cemetery,  or  from  the  stone  graves 
of  the  Sumner  county  works,  near  Saundersville. 

Two  views  of  a  small  terra  cotta  wheel  or  ear-ring  pendant, 
found  in  a  stone  grave  in  Stewart  county,  Tennessee,  are  shown  in 
Fig.  74.  This  symmetrical  ring  is  just  two  inches  in  diameter.  It 
has  been  so  carefully  made  of  very  fine  ware  that  it  must  have  been 


Fig.  74. — Terra  Cotta  Ear-ring  or  "Wheel 
(Actual  Size).* 


intended  for  some  special  purpose.  It  also  bears  the  marks  of  use. 
Two  of  these  rings,  of  the  same  size  and  form,  were  found  in  the 
same  stone  grave,  in  Stewart  county,  near  the  Cumberland  river, 
and  were  placed  in  Miss  Killebrew's  collection,  at  Clarksville,  Ten- 
nessee, where  we  first  saw  them.  From  the  careful  construction  of 
the  grave,  it  evidently  contained  the  remains  of  some  important 
personage,  or  at  least  of  some  one  who  was  honored  with  a  very  re- 
spectful burial.  Miss  Killebrew  subsequently  presented  one  of  the 
rings  (the  specimen  illustrated)  to  Captain  Johnson,  who  kindly 
gave  it  to  the  writer.  Portions  of  the  delicate  rim  were  mottled 
with  some  substance  resembling  green  paint ;  but  it  looked  so 
foreign  to  the  light  colored  surface  of  the   ring  that  it  did  not  then 


*  Author's  collection. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY. 


169 


occur  to  us  that  the  green  coloring  might  be  copper.  Subse- 
quently, however,  and  since  the  terra-cotta  ring  was  engraved  for 
this  volume,  Mr.  James  Cox  (January,  1890)  discovered  a  very  sim- 
ilar ring  of  stone,  well  plated  with  copper,  in  a  stone  grave  within 
the  group  of  ancient  earth-works  at  Mound  Bottom,  on  the  Har- 
peth  river,  about  twenty  miles  west  of  i^asliville. 

The  stone  ring  was  sent  to  us  by  Mr.  Cox,  and  is  illustrated  in 
Fig.  75.  It  at  once  revealed  the  nature  of  the  green  coloring  upon 
the  pottery  ring,  which,  upon  closer  inspection,  proved  to  be  frag- 


FiG.  75. — Ear-rixg  or  Ornament  op  Stone  Plated  with  Copper.* 

ments  of  copper  plating.  This  remarkable  stone  ring  is  two  and 
three-eighths  inches  in  diameter,  and  is  perfect  in  symmetry  and 
finish.  The  projecting  flange  or  rim  has  been  entirely  and  most 
skillfully  covered  from  center  to  circumference  with  a  thin  plating 
of  hammered  copper  of  uniform  tliickness,  which  laps  around  the 
outer  edge  as  if  melted  into  its  place.  The  surface  of  the  copper 
is  now  green  with  oxydation,  but  the  plating  is  still  nearly  perfect, 
as  is  shown  in  the  engraving.  The  copper  is  the  malleable  native 
ore  from  the  old  mines  of  Northern  Micliigan. 

This  is  a  suggestive  little  ring.     It  is  dijSicult  to  realize  that  it 
was  the  work  of  an  Indian  even  of  the  most  advanced  sedentarv  or 


*  Author's  collection. 


170  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

village  type.  It  seems  to  represent  the  typical  arts  of  the  Toltecs 
or  the  Peruvians.  Did  we  not  know  of  the  skill  of  the  Xavajos  in 
silver  and  jewelry  work,  and  of  the  north-west  coast  Indians  in 
manipulating  iron,  and,  indeed,  of  the  general  instinctive  art  faculty 
of  the  native  American  tribes,  we  would  be  disposed  to  attribute  the 
art  thus  illustrated  to  some  race  superior  to  the  ISTorth  American 
Indian  of  the  highest  class.  It  seems,  however,  to  be  more  con- 
sistent to  regard  such  evidences  of  unusual  mechanical  skill,  as 
representing  occasional  instances  of  individual  excellence,  or  local 
development,  among  known  tribes,  rather  than  as  the  work  of  some 
superior  and  unknown  race. 

The  uses  of  these  rings  or  wheels  we  can  only  conjecture. 
They  look  something  like  little  pulleys  or  mechanical  appliances, 
but  we  must  remember  that  they  belonged  to  a  period  when  per- 
sonal ornaments  were  more  used  than  mechanical  inventions.  Cop- 
per wheels,  of  somewhat  similar  form,  found  in  the  cemeteries  and 
mounds  of  Ohio,  have  been  pronounced  ear-rings  or  personal  orna- 
ments by  Prof.  Putnam  and  other  archseologists.  A  pair  of  them 
was  found  beside  the  skull  in  a  grave,  where  ear-rings  would  be 
naturally  placed.  Mr.  A.  E.  Douglass,  of  l^ew  York  City,  has  in 
his  fine  collection  of  antiquities  an  ancient  stone  pipe,  from  Ohio, 
representing  a  human  head,  with  ear-ring  ornaments  carved  in  the 
stone,  circular  in  form,  and  nearly  as  large  as  these  copper  and  cop- 
per-plated rings.  It  seems  to  confirm  the  view  that  these  rings  or 
wheels  were  pendants  or  ornaments  for  the  ears.*  The  fact  that 
two  of  them  were  found  in  the  same  grave  in  Stewart  county  also 
favors  this  view.f  Yery  similar  and  equally  symmetric  "  ear-ring 
pendants  "  of  stone,  will  also  be  illustrated  in  the  chapter  upon  ob- 

••■■  Our  friend  Mr.  Douglass  showed  us  this  pipe,  and  kindly  presented  a  photo- 
graph of  it. 

t  A  copper  spool  or  wheel  similar  to  the  double  copper  rings  found  in  Ohio  was 
found  by  Dr.  W.  M.  Clark  in  a  stone  grave  a  few  miles  south  of  Nashville,  some 
years  ago,  and  is  illustrated  in  the  Smithsonian  Reports.  Verrazzano,  who  visited 
the  Atlantic  coast  of  America  in  1524,  reported  to  his  patron,  the  French  king,  that 
he  found  the  natives  using  ear-rings  and  other  ornaments  of  copper. — Aboriginal 
Trade  (Ran),  page  90. 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY. 


171 


jects  of  polished  stone,  and  copper  pendants  or  ear-rings  like  the 
copper  spools  or  rings  found  in  the  Ohio  mounds  will  be  shown  in 
the  chapter  upon  copper  remains.  The  ear-ring  pendants  are  among 
the  most  remarkable  antiques  found  among  the  ancient  remains  of 
the  Ohio  and  Tennessee  mound  builders.  Similar  discs  or  rings 
will  be  seen  carefully  engraved  as  ear  ornaments  upon  the  human 
figures  on  the  shell  gorgets  found  in  the  ancient  graves  of  Ten- 
nessee and  Missouri.  They  frequently  appear  upon  the  figures  in 
the   Aztec  pictures,  and   upon   the   idols    of    Mexico  and    Central 


Fig.  76. — An  Ancient  Terra  Cotta  Bottle  (Two-thirds). 

America.  Beautiful  ear  pendant  discs  of  copper  or  terra  cotta, 
three  or  four  inches  in  diameter,  are  also  to  be  found  among  the 
antiquities  of  Peru.  These  large  ear-ring  ornaments  seem  to  have 
been  worn  by  all  the  southern  and  south-western  peoples  of  ancient 
America. 

A  little  jug  or  bottle  of  unusual  interest  is  illustrated  in  Fig. 
76.  It  was  found  in  Stewart  county,  Tennessee,  in  a  carefully  built 
stone  grave  containing  a  very  large  skeleton.  A  fine  clay  image 
was  also  found  in  the  grave,  all  indicating  the  burial  of  some  im- 
portant  personage.     The   little   jug  is   of   light    colored   clay,  but 


172  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE, 

is  well  burned  and  finished.  The  fairly-well  executed  head  has 
holes  at  the  sides  for  ear-rings,  and  one  at  the  usual  place  at  the 
back  of  the  neck  for  a  cord.  A  roll  of  curled  or  plaited  hair 
hangs  down  behind.  On  the  side  of  the  bottle  there  is  a  carefully 
molded  hole,  as  represented  in  the  engraving.  When  laid  in  the 
grave  it  doubtless  had  a  stopper,  but  the  latter  had  probably  de- 
cayed, as  the  hole  was  found  to  be  plugged  with  the  clay  that  had 
filtered  into  the  grave. 

"When  discovered,the  bottle  was  nearly  filled  with  dark  round 
slate-colored  pellets,  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  AVe 
found  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  of  them,  when  we  examined  it. 
Dr.  W.  L.  Dudley,  professor  of  chemistry  at  Vanderbilt  University, 
made  a  careful  analysis  of  them.  They  were  found  to  contain  car- 
bonate of  lime,  and  a  slight  quantity  of  bituminous  shale  or  clay. 
He  reported  that  his  analysis  "failed  to  indicate  the  presence  of 
any  drugs  or  medicines;"  also  that  "a  careful  microscopic  examina- 
tion did  not  reveal  any  cell  structure,  which  therefore,  excludes  the 
presence  of  herbs  and  barks." 

The  latter  may  have  disappeared  by  decay  or  absorption.  These 
little  pellets  are  soft,  small,  and  wholly  unlike  those  found  in  the 
pottery  rattles  and  heads.  They  do  not  rattle  when  shaken. 
The  modern  Indians  did  not  use  medicine  in  the  form  of  pills,  yet, 
notwithstanding  the  absence  of  herbs,  we  are  inclined  to  think 
this  little  terra  cotta  bottle  of  pellets  may  have  been  used  by 
some  priest  or  medicine  man  for  some  medicinal  purposes,  or  w-ith 
their  decoctions,  incantations,  or  curing  ceremonies.  Like  the 
modern  "  Indian  doctor,"  the  ancient  medicine  man  was  prob^ibly 
"  a  fraud,"  and  may  have  dosed  his  patients  occasionally  with 
"bread  pills,"  without  either  herbs  or  drugs.  In  any  case,  it  speaks 
well  for  him  and  his  friends  that  they  were  willing  that  he  should 
take  his  own  medicine,  on  his  way  to  the  spirit-land.  This  little 
"medicine  bottle  "  is  in  the  collection  of  Miss  Killebrew,  of  Clarks- 
ville,  Tennessee,  who  kindly  loaned  it  to  the  author  to  be  examined 
and  engraved. 

Many  other  interesting  objects  in  clay  from  the  ancient  graves 


THE    ANCIENT    POTTERY. 


173 


of  Tennessee  might  be  described  and  illustrated  if  time  and  oppor- 
tunity permitted.  It  is,  in  fact,  difficult  to  select  the  most  useful 
illustrations  from  the  vast  store  of  available  material.  The  native 
art  in  pottery  is  richer  in  details,  and  apparently  more  advanced, 
than  any  other  branch  of  ancient  industry.  To  properly  estimate 
it,  as  an  exponent  of  the  culture  status  of  the  Stone  Grave  race,  it 
must  be  surveyed  as  a  whole,  and  must  be  considered,  also,  in  its  re- 
lations to  other  arts  and  industries.  Races  very  low  in  the  scale  of 
civilization  have  occasionally  developed  an  almost  abnormal  state 
of  culture  in  particular  arts.     For  purposes  of  comparison,  we  iii- 


FiG.  77. — Pottery  of  the  Fiji  Islanders. 


troduce  an  illustration  from  Dr.  Wilson's  Prehistoric  Man  (Vol.  I, 
page  188),  of  the  pottery  of  the  savages  of  the  Fiji  Islands  (Fig.  77). 

The  double  vessel  suggests  an  analogy  to  some  of  the  peculiar 
Peruvian  forms.  ^Notwithstanding  their  low  state  of  cannibalism, 
the  Fijians  excelled  the  other  races  of  Polynesia  in  the  ceramic  arts, 
and  in  a  certain  subtle  appreciation  of  beauty  of  form.  They  are 
artists  by  nature.  The  vessels  illustrated  seem  equal,  if  not  supe- 
rior, to  the  best  ancient  types  from  Tennessee.* 

Unfortunately,  we  have  not  as  yet  sufficient  data  to  enable  us 
to  mark  the  lines  of  distinction  that  separate  the  historic  from  the 

■*■  "As  examples  of  intuitive  art,  the  pottery  of  the  Fijians  is  superior  in  outline 
to  the  generality  of  decorated  earthenware  in  civilized  countries.  They  display  a 
wonderful  power  of  fertility  and  originality  of  design." — Uncivilized  Races  (J.  G. 
Wood),  Vol.  II,  page  920. 


174  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

prehistoric  ware  of  the  Mississippi  valley;  yet  we  have  no  positive 
evidence  of  the  existence  within  historic  times  of  an  art  equal  in 
excellence  of  manipulation  and  in  its  graces  of  form  to  the  best  ex- 
amples from  the  stone  graves.  While  this  art  is  not  believed  to  be 
beyond  the  natural  capacity  of  some  of  the  more  advanced  tribes 
of  historic  Indians  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  under  favorable  condi- 
tions, some  of  its  manifestations  certainly  indicate  a  culture  un- 
known to  the  historic  period,  and  somewhat  in  advance  of  our  ac- 
cepted ideas  of  red  Indian  art.  It  has  many  features  in  common 
with  the  pottery  of  the  pueblo  Indians,  and  in  fixing  its  relative 
status  in  the  scale  of  civilization,  we  think  it  may  be  justly  classed 
in  the  same  grade  with  the  ceramic  arts  of  tribes  like  the  Zuni  and 
Moqui  villagers.* 

■■■■  The  discovery  of  the  fine  types  of  pottery  and  other  antiques  in  the  Noel 
cemetery  excited  much  local  interest  upon  this  general  subject,  and  nearly  all  the 
remaining  stone  graves  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Nashville  have  been  excavated 
and  examined.  We  have  greatly  regretted  that  a  more  systematic  exploration  of 
these  old  cemeteries  has  not  been  made,  but  there  was  no  fund  in  the  treasury  of 
the  Tennessee  Historical  Society  for  this  purpose,  and  the  archaeological  field  was 
too  extensive  to  be  controlled  by  individual  effort.  We  have  endeavored,  however, 
to  prevent  indiscriminate  ransacking  and  pillaging  by  inexperienced  relic  hunters, 
and  we  have  urged  upon  all  the  duty  of  examining  the  graves  with  care  and  intelli- 
gence, with  a  view  to  preserving  all  objects  and  articles,  however  insignificant,  in 
any  way  illustrating  the  industries  and  habits  of  these  ancient  tomb  builders. 

The  writer  personally  superintended  the  exploration  of  a  number  of  cemeteries. 
He  also  engaged  the  services  of  several  "  experts"  in  this  work,  from  time  to  time, 
and  thus  acquired  for  his  collection  a  large  proportion  of  the  fine  specimens  re- 
cently discovered,  embracing  some  four  or  five  hundred  perfect  vessels  of  pottery. 

Messrs.  John,  Edward,  and  Eobert  Blunkall,  Frank  Lawrence,  and  "  Uncle 
Arthur,"  who  resided  near  the  Noel  cemetery,  became  very  expert  with  the 
trowel,  and  found  some  of  the  finest  specimens.  Mr.  Otto  Giers,  E.  C.  Wells, 
Frank  Cheatham,  Geo.  T.  Halley,  W.  W.  Dosier,  George  Wood,  and  others  were 
also  enthusiastic  explorers.  There  are  a  number  of  collections  of  pottery  in  Nash- 
ville from  the  graves  and  mounds  of  Middle  Tennessee.  The  Historical  Society  has 
a  large  collection.  Messrs.  Otto  Giers,  E.  C.  Wells,  W.  D.  Buchanan,  Captain  J.  R. 
Johnson,  Norman  Farrell,  Frank  Morrow,  Dr.  R.  A.  Halley,  Frank  Cheatham,  Van- 
derbilt  University,  Prof.  Wright  (of  Fisk  University),  Miss  Mary  Maxwell,  Mrs.  J. 
P.  Drouillard,  Mrs.  John  Overton,  and  perhaps  others,  have  collections  or  small 


THE  ANCIENT  POTTEKY.  175 

cabinets  of  ancient  pottery.  J.  B.  Nicklin  of  Chattanooga,  Dr.  J.  F.  Grant  of  Pu- 
laski, The  South-western  University  and  Miss  Killebrew  of  Clarksville,  John  G. 
Cisco  of  Jackson,  and  the  Rev.  C.  F.  Williams  of  Maury  county,  have  some  good 
specimens.  One  of  the  largest  collections  of  Tennessee  jiottery  is  in  the  Peabody 
Museum,  at  Cambridge,  ^lassachusetts.  There  are  some  fine  specimens,  also,  in  the 
Smithsonian  Institution. 


I 


176  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE- 


CHAPTER      \^I. 

THE  PIPES. 

Tobacco  in  Ancient  America — Pipes  of  Peace — Clay  Pipes — Idol  Pipes — Animal 
Forms — Bird  Pipes — Tube  Forms — Platform  Pipes — Catlinite  Pipes — Large 
Calumets — Flying  Bird  Types — Alligator  Pipe — Square  Form — Modern  Catlin- 
ite Pipes — Iroquois  Pipe — North-west  Coast  Types — Ancient  and  Modern 
Types  Compared. 

The  tobacco  plant,  as  is  well  known,-  is  a  native  of  America. 
The  early  discoverers  reported  that  all  the  Indian  tribes,  savage  and 
semi-civilized,  knew  of  its  uses  ;  and  archceologists  have  brought  to 
light  the  fact  that  smoking  was  an  almost  universal  and  iminemo- 
rial  usage  among  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  our  western  conti- 
nent— the  ubiquitous  pipe  having  been  discovered  in  intimate 
association  with  its  most  ancient  monuments.* 

The  pipe  was  invested  with  an  interest  and  importance  among 
the  historic  Indians,  above  the  value  of  their  other  possessions. 
The  time-honored  calumet  was  sometimes  looked  upon  with  venera- 
tion by  an  entire  tribe.  It  was  present  upon  all  ceremonial  and 
religious  occasions  Father  Hennepin  called  it  the  "Pipe  of 
Peace."  It  performed  the  duty  of  a  -flag  of  truce,  and  was  his 
"safeguard"  on  his  voyage  of  disco s^ery.f 

*  Columbus  and  other  discoverers  not  only  report  their  astonishment  at  finding 
the  natives  "  with  fire-brands  in  their  mouths  and  emitting  smoke,"  but  we  have 
the  authority  of  H.  H.  Bancroft  for  the  statement  that  at  the  date  of  the  Spanish 
conquest  they  smoked  cigarettes  and  took  snuff. — Native  Races,  Vol.  II,  page  288 ; 
Naidallac,  page  160.  Willow  bark  and  the  roots  of  herbs  were  also  used  by  the  In- 
dians as  substitutes  for  tobacco. 

t  "  The  Pipe  such  as  I  have  described  it,"  says  Father  Hennepin,  "  is  a  Pass  and 
safe  Conduct  against  all  the  Allies  of  the  nation  who  has  given  it;  and  in  all  Em-' 
bassies,  the  ambassadors  carry  that  Calumet  as  the  Symbol  of  Peace,  which  is  always 
respected.     For  the  savages  are  generally  persuaded  that  a  great  misfortune  would 


THE    PIPES.  177 

Marquette  and  Charlevoix  found  the  cahimet  equally  useful  as  a 
symbol  of  peace  and  friendship.  Longfellow  begins  his  Song  of 
Hiawatha  with  a  beautiful  tribute  to  it.  The  pipe  was  the  favorite 
companion  of  its  owner,  and  all  the  skill  of  the  native  lapidary  was 
lavished  upon  it. 

The  prehistoric  inhabitants  of  Tennessee  were  evidently  invet- 
erate smokers.  In  no  other  portion  of  America  have  ancient  pipes 
been  found  in  greater  numbers  or  varieties,  or  of  more  artistic 
forms.* 

The  large  stone  calumets  fashioned  in  the  form  of  animals, 
many  varieties  of  the  finely  modeled  bird  pipes,  the  "idol  pipes"  of 
human  form,  the  ordinary  forms  in  clay  and  stone,  the  disc  pipes, 
the  tube  forms,  the  stone  stem,  curved  base  and  platform  types,  of 
Ohio  and  West  Virginia,  have  all  been  discovered  in  Tennessee. 

It  is  not  always  possible  to  distinguish  the  ancient  from  the 
comparatively  modern  types,  although  the  practiced  eye  of  the  old 
collector  can  generally  do  so.     The  pipe  makers  of  some  of  the  his- 

befall  'em,  if  they  violated  the  Public  Faith  of  the  Calumet.  All  their  Enterprises, 
Declarations  of  War,  or  Conclusions  of  Peace,  as  well  as  ail  the  rest  of  their  cere- 
monies are  sealed  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  so,  with  the  Calumet.  They  fill  that 
pipe  with  the  best  tobacco  they  have,  and  then  present  to  those  with  whom,  they 
have  concluded  any  great  Affair,  and  smoak  out  of  the  same,  after  them.  I  had  cer- 
tainly perish'd  in  my  voyage,  had  it  not  been  for  this  Calumet  or  Pipe." — A  New 
Discovery,  etc.,  Chap.  XXIY,  pages  93,  94.     London,  1698. 

*  The  beautiful  little  animal-form  pipes  discovered  in  the  mounds  of  the  Scioto 
valley,  in  Ohio,  and  illustrated  by  Squier  and  Davis  in  the  Ancient  Monuments  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  are  not  surpassed  in  artistic  execution  by  any  ancient  pipe  work 
or  carvings  in  stone  discovered  within  the  mound  area.  They  are  generally  regarded 
as  the  best  examples  of  ancient  native  art  in  stone.  The  high  praise  accorded  them 
by  Squier  and  Davis  has,  in  fact,  aided  in  creating  the  popular  overestimate  of  the 
general  state  of  art  in  the  Ohio  valley  during  the  mound  building  epoch ;  yet,  after 
a  careful  examination  of  some  of  the  originals  and  of  casts  of  the  collection  in  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  the  author  is  of  opinion  that,  as  types  of  the  mound  build- 
ers' art,  the  fine  Tennessee  and  southern  pipes  are  not  inferior  to  the  Ohio  mound 
pipes;  neither  are  the  fine  pottery  heads  found  in  Tennessee  inferior  to  them  as 
examples  of  art  in  modeling. 

12 


178  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

toric  tribes  occasionally  made  pipes  in  excellence  of  carving  and 
artistic  merit  not  inferior  to  the  genuine  antiques.  Adair  informs 
us  that  the  Cherokees  made  beautiful  pipes  of  stone  in  imitation 
of  birds  and  animals,  and  sometimes  of  "  nude  human  figures  "  that 
could  not  "  much  be  commended  for  their  modesty."  * 

Lieutenant  Timberlake,  who  visited  the  Cherokees  in  1761,  re- 
ports the  additional  fact  that  they  made  fine  pipes  of  pottery  ware. 
He  says  he  was  almost  sufii'ocated  with  the  great  number  of  peace 
pipes  he  had  to  smoke  as  a  pledge  of  friendship. f 

Captain  John  Smith,  in  his  quaint  "  History  of  Virginia,"  de- 
scribed the  stone  pipes  in  which  Powhattan  and  his  wild  courtiers 
smoke  their  tobacco — pipes  like  some  of  our  antique  western  speci- 
mens, carved  in  the  form  of  birds  and  animals,  and,  as  Smith  says, 
"  heavy  enough  to  beat  out  one's  brains." 

The  large  stone  calumets  and  bird-shaped  pipes  sometimes  dis- 
covered as  "surface  finds"  are,  therefore,  not  necessarily  of  ancient 
date,  and  may  be  the  work  of  the  Shawnees,  Cherokees,  or  other 
modern  Indians.  It  is,  in  fact,  diflicult  to  classify  the  various  types 
chronologically  or  geographically,  and  we  can  only  do  so  in  a  par- 
tial or  general  way. 

The  pipes  discovered  in  the  stone  graves  and  burial  mounds  of 
Tennessee,  of  course,  indicate  with  considerable  exactness  the 
typical  forms  used  by  the  Stone  Grave  race.  They  also  aid  us  in 
determining  the  age  of  antiques  of  similar  forms  plowed  up  in  the 
fields. 

Large  funnel-shaped  stem  holes,  sometimes  even  larger  than 
the  pipe  bowls,  appear  to  the  author  to  have  been  one  of  the  dis- 
tino-uishing  characteristics  of  ancient  southern  clay  and  stone  pipes, 
and  we  suggest  to  antiquarians  the  importance  of  this  feature  in  the 
proper  classification  of  these  objects. 

*  History  oi  the  American  Indians,  pages  423.  424.  London,  1775.  According 
to  Dr.  Cyrufa  Thomas,  Adair  also  states  that  the  Cherokees  made  pipes  that  must 
have  been  of  the  same  general  form  as  some  of  the  Ohio  platform  pipes. — Problem 
of  the  Ohio  mounds,  page  39. 

T  Memoirs,  pages  38,  39.     London,  1 765. 


THE    PIPES.  179 

The  handsome  slate  and  steatite  platform  pipes  of  the  Ohio 
pattern  found  in  Tennessee,  with  stone  stems  or  mouth  pieces, 
and  with  the  small,  carefully  drilled  stem  holes,  were  also  ancient 
types,  certainly  as  old  as  some  of  ttie  Ohio  and  West  Virginia 
mounds,  in  which  similar  pipes  have  been  occasionally  found.  The 
stem  hole  of  uniform  diameter^  for  a  closely  fitting  reed  or  cane  stem, 
probably  belongs  to  type  comparatively  modern,  as  this  appears  to 
be  the  usual  form  of  stem  holes  drilled  by  the  historic  Indians. 

Steatite  or  talc,  in  its  various  colors,  from  North  Carolina  or 
the  eastern  borders  of  Tennessee,  w^as  the  material  generally  util- 
ized in  the  manufacture  of  tine  stone  pipes.  JSTo  other  stone  was  so 
suitable  for  this  purpose.  It  is  not  injured  by  heat,  and  compact 
steatite  is  not  easily  fractured.  It  can  be  carved  or  drilled  without 
very  great  labor,  and  some  of  the  varieties  have  a  surface  nearly  as 
brilliant  as  marble,  when  polished.  Fine  quarries  of  steatite  are 
found  near  Roane  Mountain,  in  East  Tennessee.  Sandstone,  slate, 
limestone,  serpentine,  syenite,  and  other  varieties  of  stone,  were  also 
employed  in  pipe  making.  In  General  Wilder's  collection,  there  is 
a  fine  specimen  made  of  rich  banded  jasper  with  brilliant  red 
srripes.  Any  stone,  attractive  in  its  colors,  convenient  in  form,  or 
easily  worked,  seems  to  have  been  utilized  by  the  old  pipe  makers. 

The  material  was  sometimes  transported  great  distances.  In- 
deed, it  would  be  hard  to  tell  the  location  of  the  various  quarries 
and  ledges  that  furnished  the  material  for  the  pipes  and  implements 
of  Tennessee  and  the  states  adjacent.  Pipes  were  bartered  and  ex- 
changed for  other  commodities.  Doubtless,  the  pipe  makers  of  East 
Tennessee  and  Western  North  Carolina,  where  much  of  the  stone 
was  quari-ied,  exchanged  them  in  large  numbers  with  the  shell 
workers  of  the  coast,  and  the  hunters  and  pottery  makers  of  Middle 
and  West  Tennessee.  Lawson  tells  us  the  southern  Indians  also 
manufactured  tobacco  pipes  of  day  to  send  to  distant  regions  in 
exchange  for  skins  and  other  merchandise.*  In  ante-Columbian 
times,    as  within    the    historic    period,    pipe    making,    like    arrow 

*  Carolina  (Lawson),  page  207. 


180 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


making,  was   doubtless  a  special  industry,  followed  by  experts   in 
the  art.* 

We  are  told  by  the  early  writers  that  it  sometimes  took  the 
native  artisans  many  months  to  finish  a  single  pipe.  As  most  of  the 
drudgery  of  living  was  borne  by  the  women,  time  was  plentiful, 
and,  as  Lawson  says,  the  Indian  men  were  "  great  enemies  to  pro- 
fuse sweating,"  or  hurrying  in  their  work. 

Fig.  78  represents  the  pipes  of  clay  found  in  the  stone  graves  near 
I^ashville  and  in  the  lower  Cumberland  valley.  (Author's  collec- 
tion.) 

They  are  introduced  here  as  typical  forms,  and  will  aid  us  in 
classifying  other  pipes.     The  outlines  give  a  fairly  correct  idea  of 


Fig.  78. — Clay  Pipes  prom  the  Stone  Graves  of  Tennessee  (One-third). 


the  originals,  but  are  stifi',  and  not  so  graceful  as  the  natural  objects. 
The  large  stem  holes  will  be  observed. 

In  the  Johnson  collection,  there  is  a  large  clay  pipe  with  a  plat- 
form base,  the  stem  hole  of  which  is  large  enough  to  hold  the  entire 
bowl. 

These  clay  pipes  are  of  light  yellow  or  blue-gray  color,  and  are 
usually  rudely  made,  as  compared  with  the  finer  grades  of  pottery 
from  the  graves.  The  pipes  of  clay  found  in  the  burial  mounds  of 
Arkansas  and  Missouri  are  also  usually  rude,  and  show  little  effort  at 
artistic  molding.     It  seems  singular  that  so  little  care  was  taken  by 

*  Black  marble  pipes  were  made  with  great  labor  and  patience  by  one  person 
only  throughout  the  whole  nation.  He  lives  in  Natchez,  and,  being  the  only  man 
that  knows  where  the  stone  can  be  found,  monopolizes  the  business  entirely,  and 
sells  his  common  pipes  at  half  the  price  of  a  blanket. — Schoolcraft,  Vol.  V,  page  692. 


THE    PIPES. 


181 


the  artistic  potters  of  the  Stone  Grave  race  in  making  and  orna- 
menting these  easily  molded  pipes  of  clay,  when  so  much  labor  was 
expended  in  carving  the  elaborate  pipes  of  stone.  The  explanation 
may  be  in  the  fact  that  the  women  of  onr  native  races  were  usually 
the  pottery  makers,  and  the  men  the  stone  carvers  and  ilint 
chippers.* 

Ornamented  pipes  of  clay  are,  however,  occasionally  found,  A 
specimen,  evidently  of  the  stone  grave  period,  from  the  character  of 
the  pottery,  with  the  face  of  a  wolf,  dog,  peccary,  or  some  other 
animal,  is  shown  in  Fig.  79.  It  was  found  on  the  Rogers  farm,  at 
Little  River,  on  the  Lower  Cumberland,  in  an  ancient  stone  grave 


Fig.  79. — Ancient  Pipe  op  Pottery  ( One-half ).t 


settlement.  Unfortunately,  the  stem  end  was  partly  cut  oiF,  to 
enable  the  discoverer  to  use  the  pipe  more  conveniently  with  a 
modern  wooden  stem. 

The  great  diversity  in  the  forms  of  stone  pipes,  resulting  from 
the  individual   fancies    and   tastes    of    the    pipe-makers,  renders    it 

*  Lawson  tells  us  the  Indian  women  of  Carolina  were  addicted  to  smoking,  as 
well  as  the  men,  and  this  was  doubtless  the  case  in  other  sections. 

An  ornamented  clay  pipe,  with  a  face  molded  upon  it,  was  recently  found  in  a 
grave  on  the  farm  of  Robert  Chadwell,  Esq.,  near  Nashville.  It  was  evidently  a 
"  commercial  pipe,''  of  the  pattern  sold  by  the  early  traders.  The  grave  was  proba- 
bly that  of  a  modern  Indian,  as  large  copper  buttons  and  the  remains  of  woolen 
cloth  were  found  in  it.  We  are  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Chadwell  for  the 
pipe  and  some  of  the  buttons. 

t  Author's  collection. 


182  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

difficult  to  classify  them  in  the  order  of  their  probable  age.  In 
considering  this  subject,  we  will,  therefore,  first  present  types  of 
the  stone  pipes  discovered  in  the  stone  graves  and  burial  mounds, 
thus  identifying  them  as  types  of  the  mound  building  tribes. 

The  pipe  represented  in  Fig.  80  was  dug  up,  in  1887,  by  Messrs. 
AVinstead  and  Martin,  in  an  ancient  stone  grave  cemetery  near  the 
Cumberland  river,  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  George  P.  Alien,  about  six 
miles  south-west  of  Clarksville,  Tennessee.  It  was  found  within 
the  grave  beside  the  head,  having  been  placed  there,  doubtless,  to 
be  ready  for  smoking. 


Fig.  80. — Stone  Pipe  of  Serpentine  (One-half).* 

The  three  legged  vessel  (Plate  VIII)  was  found  in  nearly  the 
same  position  in  an  adjoining  grave.  There  was  a  large  artificial 
mound,  six  feet  high,  on  the  "  upper  terrace"  of  the  cultivated  field 
containing  the  burial  grounds,  and  the  remains  of  pottery  and  shell 
heaps  indicated  the  site  of  an  ancient  town  or  village.  The  pipe 
is  of  dark  green  serpentine,  a  beautiful  semi-translucent  mineral, 
finely  polished.  It  represents  the  human  figure  and  face.  The  bowl 
and  large  funnel-shaped  stem  hole  are  at  the  back  of  the  figure.  It 
stands  well  on  its  feet,  but  the  face  is  shown  best  as  engraved,  the 
position  in  which  it  would  naturally  be  held  in  smoking. 

•■•  Author's  collection. 


THE    PIPES.  183 

In  the  large  burial  ground,  within  the  ancient  earth-works 
near  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  Prof.  F.  W.  Putnam  found  the  interest- 
ing pipe,  carved  from  green  steatite,  represented  by  Fig.  81. 

The  tumulus  contained  "  sixty  stone  graves  arranged  in  the 
form  of  a  hollow  square,  about  the  outer  portion  of  the  mound,  in 
two  or  three  irregular  rows  and  in  three  tiers."  The  pipe  was  dis- 
covered between  two  of  the  graves,  near  the  surface.  We  have  not 
seen  the  original,  but  three  sketches  of  ditferent  views  of  it  appear 


Fig.  81. — Steatite  Pipe,  from  Works  near  Lebanon,  Tennessee  (Three-fourths).* 

in  Prof.  Putnam's  report,!  from  one  of  which  the  illustration  was 
copied.  The  stem  hole  of  the  ancient  funnel-shaped  type  is  at  the 
back  of  the  figure,  reaching  through  to  the  bowl  in  front.  There 
are  four  small  handles  on  the  sides  of  the  bowl. 

By  a  singular  coincidence,  a  pipe  of  the  same  niaterial,  of  this 
identical  peculiar  form,  and  of  about  the  same  size,  was  found  some 
two  hundred  miles  south-east  of  the  Lebanon  works,  in  the  great 
Etowah  mound,  near  Cartersville,  Georgia,  one  of  the  largest  artificial 
mounds  in  the  South,  and  the  most  remarkable  in  its  physical 
characteristics,  and  in  the  richness  and  variety  of  the  objects  of 

■•■•  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge. 

t  Eleventh  Annual  Report  Peabody  Museum,  page  350. 


184 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


ancient  art  obtained  from  it.  No  other  single  monnd  or  group  of 
mounds  north-east  of  Mexico  has  equaled  it,  and  the  adjacent 
smaller  mounds,  as  treasure  houses  of  aboriginal  art,  unless  it  be 
the  earth-works  at  "  Mound  City,"  in  the  Scioto  valley,  where  Dr. 
Davis,  nearly  a  half  century  ago,  struck  the  well-known  archaeo- 
logical bonanza,  consisting  of  nearly  two  hundred  beautifully  carved 
stone  pipes. 


Fig.  82. — Steatite  Pipe,  from  the  Etowah  Mound,  Georgia  (Three-fourths).* 

The  pipe  from  Georgia  is  represented  in  Fig.  82.  It  is  of  dark, 
rich  green  steatite,  glistening  with  mica-like  particles  of  talc,  and  is 
one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  ancient  pipe  carving  discovered  in 
the  mounds.  It  is  larger  than  Prof.  Putnam's  pipe.  The  outer  rim 
of  the  funnel-shaped  stem  hole  at  the  back  is  nearly  as  large  as  the 
bowl.  The  legs  of  the  figures  of  both  pipes  are  broken  in  nearly 
the  same  manner.  The  three  views  of  Prof.  Putnam's  pipe  show 
such  uniformity  in  both  that  they  appear  to  be  the  work  of  the 
same  native  sculptor. 


*  Author's  collection. 


THE    PIPES. 


185 


The  recent  discovery  of  box-shaped  stone  cists  in  the  mounds 
of  the  Etowah  group  by  the  agents  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology 
also  seems  to  indicate  intercourse  or  relationship  between  the 
mound  builders  of  North  Georgia  and  those  of  the  Cumberland 
valley.* 

In  this  connection,  we  introduce  another  ancient  stone  pipe 
from  the  same  great  mound  on  the  Etow^ah  river  (Fig.  83)  as  an 
illustration  of  the  stone  carving  art  of  the  old  southern  Indians.     It 


Fig.  83. — Steatite  Pipe,  Etowah  Mound,  Geoijgia  (One-half). t 


is  of  light  gray  steatite.  The  stem  hole  in  the  back  is  large  and 
funnel-shaped.  The  abnormal,  almost  grotesque,  Roman  nose,  pre- 
sents another  instance  of  the  variety  of  face  types  in  ancient 
southern  stone  carvings. 

The  two  stone  pipes  from  Georgia,  now  illustrated  for  the  first 
time,  are  described  from  memory  by  Colonel  C.  C.  Jones,  the  able 
historian  and  antiquarian  of  that  state,  in  his  w^ork  upon  the  An- 

*  Burial  Mounds  ( Prof.  Cyrus  Thomas's  Fifth  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  Ethnol- 
ogy, page  106). 

t  Author's  collection. 


186  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

tiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians,  page  402.  These  pipes,  "the 
best  idol  pipes  we  have  seen,"  he  states,  "  were  ploughed  up  near 
the  base  of  the  pentagonal  mound,  within  the  inclosure  formed  by 
the  moat,  and  the  Etowah,  upon  the  plantation  of  Colonel  Lewis 
Tumlin,  near  Cartersville,  Georgia."  "They  were  obviously  very 
old,"  he  continues,  "  and,  in  all  likelihood,  antedated,  by  an 
indelinite  period  of  time,  the  occupancy  of  this  valley  by  the 
Cherokees.  So  far  as  recorded  observation  extends,  nothing  like 
them  was  noted  in  the  use  or  possession  of  the  modern  Indians." 
In  his  valuable  work,  Colonel  Jones  figures  no  other  pipes  of  equal 
interest  or  so  skillfully  wrought.* 

For  comparison,  and  in  further  illustration  of  the  pipe  carvings 
of  the  mound  builders  of  the  South,  in  the  states  adjacent  to  Ten- 
nessee, we  present  a  unique  stone  pipe  carved  in  imitation  of  the 
American  panther,  or  some  similar  savage  animal  (Fig.  84).  It  was 
found  in  digging  a  ditch  near  the  base  of  the  large  mound  of  the 
Carthage  group  on  the  AVarrior  river,  near  Tuscaloosa,  Alabama. 
This  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  interesting  collections  of  ancient 
mounds  in  that  state.  The  large  Indian  town  once  located  there 
was  probably  visited  by  De  Soto  in  1540.  The  main  mound  is  said 
to  be    about  eighty  feet  high.f     The    panther,   or  puma,  was  the 

*  These  two  fine  pipes  from  Georgia  were  kindly  presented  to  the  author,  a 
number  of  years  ago,  by  Mrs.  J.  C.  Rice,  of  Nashville,  and  her  daughter.  Miss  Ada 
Rice.  Mrs.  Rice  was  the  daughter  of  Colonel  Lewis  Tumlin,  of  Bartow  county, 
Georgia,  the  owner  of  the  plantation  upon  which  the  Etowah  mound  group  is  lo- 
cated. She  brought  them  to  Nashville  at  the  close  of  the  war.  The  large  stone  idol 
now  in  the  collection  of  the  Tennessee  Historical  Society,  and  the  remarkable  cop- 
per-plate figures  and  engraved  shells  illustrated  in  the  Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the 
Bureau  of  Ethnology,  are  from  the  same  mound  or  mound  group.  Colonel  Jones 
describes  these  pipes  from  recollection,  stating  that,  unfortunately,  '"  amid  the  de- 
vastations consequent  upon  the  invasion  of  Georgia  by  the  Federal  armies,  in  1864, 
these,  with  other  valuable  relics,  were  either  destroyed  or  carried  away  by  the 
soldiers."     As  will  be  observed,  this  was  an  error. 

t  This  pipe  is  described  in  a  printed  address  delivered  by  Thomas  Maxwell, 
Esq.,  before  the  Alabama  Historical  Society,  at  Tuscaloosa,  July  1,  1876.  The 
author  obtained  it  from  Dr.  W.  H.  Harris,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  to  whom  it  had 
been  presented  by  Mrs.  Prince,  the  owner  of  the  farm  upon  which  the  Carthage 


THE    PIPES, 


187 


totem  or  enil)lem  of  one  of  the  families  of  the  Creeks  or  Muskogees, 
a  most  warlike  tribe  of  southern  Indians,  found  by  the  whites  in 
Alabama  and  Georgia  at  the  period  of  discovery,  and  this  fine  pipe 
may  have  been  intended  to  represent  the  family  or  clan  of  the 
panther.     The  wild  cat  was  also  a  totem  of  the  Chickasaws. 

The  pipe  is  carved  from  a  heavy,  compact,  cream  colored  tal- 
cose  stone,  and,  as  shown  in  the  engraving,  is  decorated  with  much 
artistic  skill. 

Unfortunately,  the  artist,  in  preparing  the  engraving,  having 


I 
I 


Fig.  84. — Stone  Pipe,  from  Carthage  Mound,  Alabama  (Two-thirds).* 

only  the  photograph  before  him,  failed  to  properly  represent  the 
feet  and  claws,  which  are  as  finely  carved  as  the  face. 

The  tail  is  curled  up  over  the  body,  reaching  to  the  back  of 
the  head.  The  stem  hole  is  nearly  as  large  as  the  bowl.  The  sharp 
angles  about  the  eye  appear  in  some  of  the  Ohio  animal  pipe  faces, 
and  were,  doubtless,  intended  to  give  fierceness  to  the  expressoin. 
It  is  a  most  spirited  example  of  ancient  carving  in  stone,  skillfully 
and  artistically  decorated.     The  ancient  art  work  is  fully  up  to  the 

group  is  located.     A  larger  stone  pipe,  of  an  animal  form,  and  many  other  objects  of 
interest,  have  been  obtained  from  these  mounds.     See  Ancient  Society  (Morgan) 
pages  161,  163,  as  to  tiger  or  panther  totem. 
*  Author's  collection. 


188 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


standard  of  the   copyist,  and   was  evidently  the  work  of  a  master 
among  the  pipe  sculptors  of  the  mound  epoch. 

As  may  he  observed,  the  scroll  decorations  and  the  angles 
about  the  eyes  are  similar  to  the  decorations  on  the  fine  black  pot- 
tery from  Mississippi,  illustrated  in  the  preceding  chapter,  clearly 
identifying  the  age  of  this  pipe  with  that  of  the  best  southern 
pottery.* 


Fig.  85. — Image  Pipe  (One-half). 

The  pipes  heretofore  illustrated  were  obtained  from  the  ancient 
graves  and  mounds.  The  large  stone  pipe  (Fig.  85),  representing  a 
kneeling  human  figure,  is  also  an  ancient  type.  It  is  in  the  fine 
collection  of  General  J.  T.  Wilder,  now  of  Johnson  City,  Ten- 
nessee,! ai^<i  was  discovered  near  Kingston,  Tennessee. 

*  A  clay  pipe  of  the  same  general  form,  but  of  a  ruder  type,  was  plowed  up  on 
the  Yazoo  river,  in  Mississippi,  and  is  illustrated  in  Ancient  Monuments  (Squier 
and  Davis),  page  193. 

t  General  Wilder  has  one  of  the  largest  and  most  carefully  selected  collections 
of  antiquities  in  the  South,  and  kindly  sent  the  author  a  large  number  of  specimens 
for  examination  and  comparison. 


THE    PIPES.  189 

The  material  of  which  it  is  eoinposed  is  a  compact,  reddish- 
brown  stone,  probably  jasper  or  shale.  It  is  six  inches  in  heis^ht. 
The  head-dress  is  unique  and  remarkable.  The  stem  hole  is  large 
and  funnel-shaped.  The  face  is  peculiar  and  somber  in  expression, 
but  the  high  cheek  bones  and  long  nose  seem  to  represent  a  red 
Indian  type.  The  long  pointed  ear-rings  on  each  side  are  well 
carved  in  the  original.  Prof.  John  A.  Miller,  of  Oldtown,  Tennes- 
see, has  a  large  stone  pipe,  found  in  the  mound  district  near  the 
Harpeth  river,  of  the  same  general  form,  representing  the  human 
figure  in  a  kneeling  posture,  but  it  is  much  more  rudely  sculptured. 
Pipes  of  somewhat  similar  form  have  also  been  discovered  in  Illi- 
nois, and  in  the  ancient  mounds  of  Ohio. 


Fig.  86. — Duck  Pipe,  Sumner  County,  Tennessee  (One-third).* 

The  pipe  represented  in  Fig.  86  we  regard  as  an  ancient  type. 
It  seems  to  mark  the  transition  state,  or  the  beginnings  of  the  pipes 
of  the  monitor  bowl  form.  It  was  recently  found  on  the  farm 
adjoining  the  extensive  earth-works  in  Sumner  county,  near 
Saundersville,  Tennessee.  The  head  is  carved  in  imitation  of  a 
duck.  It  is  of  lustrous  grey  steatite,  and  has  a  comparatively  large 
stem  hole. 

Fig.  87  illustrates  a  pipe  in  the  form  of  the  human  foot,  of  dark 
grey  steatite.     This  also  is  probably  an  ancient  type. 

It  was  plowed  up  on  the  Phillips  farm  in  the  midst  of  the 
stone  grave  settlements,  a  few  miles  south  of  Nashville,  and  was 
kindly  presented  to  the  author  by  Colonel  Thomas   Claiborne,  of 

*  Author's  collection. 


190 


ANTIQUIIIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


Nashville.  The  bowl  was  unfortunately  broken  by  the  plow.  The 
stem  hole  is  large.  The  pipe  is  not  of  the  ordinary  monitor  pat- 
tern, and  is  not  large  enough  to  be  regarded  as  a  calumet.  In  the 
chapter  on  pottery,  a  bottle  or  jug  of  the  same  general  form,  from  a 
stone  grave,  is  illustrated. 


Fig.  87. — Stone  Pipe,  Found  near  Nashville  (One-half).* 

Among  the  most  interesting  antiques  yet  discovered  in  Tennes- 
see are  the  tubes  and  tube  pipes.  Their  form  would  not  suggest  to 
the  ordinary  observer  that  they  were  pipes,  as  they  are  unlike  the 
smoking  pipes  generally  used  by  the  eastern  Indians,  and  they  seem 
quite  unfitted  for  this  purpose ;  yet  the  cylindrical  tube  or  conoidal- 
shaped  pipe  is  a  well-known  type,  commonly  used  by  the  ancient 


Fig.  88. — Tube  Pipe  of  Pottery.! 

tribes  of  California.     Some  of  the  pueblo  tribes,  the  cliff  dwellers, 
and  the  Utes  and  Mohaves,  also  used  pipes  of  this  model. 

Fig.  88  represents  a  tube  pipe  of  pottery  from  the  Ilarpeth 
mound  section,  in  Williamson  county  (Middle  Tennessee).  It  was 
presented  many  years  ago  to  the  Tennessee  Historical  Society,  and 
is  now  in  its  collection.     It  is  a  dainty  little  tube,  with  thin  walls, 

*  Author's  collection. 

t  Tennessee  Historical  collection. 


THE    PIPES. 


191 


a  trifle  more  than  four  inches  long,  and  about  an  inch  in  diameter 
at  the  center.  The  aperture  at  the  small  end  is  less  than  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  in  diameter.  It  bears  the  evidences  of  much  use,  but  the 
reddish-brown  clay  paste,  of  which  it  is  made,  is  of  the  linest 
quality  of  pottery  found  in  the  graves,  and  it  is  still  glossy  and  firm. 
It  looks  very  much  like  a  modern  cigar-holder.  A  small  quill  or 
hollow  bone  may  have  been  used  as  a  mouth-piece.  This  seems  to 
have  been  a  custom  of  some  of  the  far  west  tribes. 

The  very  symmetrical  tube  pipe  of  talcose  slate  (Fig.  89)  was 
recently  found  in  a  stone  grave  in  a  small  cemeterv,  in  Overton 
county  (Middle  Tennessee),  by  H.  L.  Johnson.  It  is  five  and  a  half 
inches  long,  and  an  inch  and  a  quarter  in  diameter  at  the  large  end. 
The  bore  tapers  with  remarkable  regularity,  and  is  but  a  sixth  of 


Fig. 


-Tube  Pipe,  Overton  County. 


an  inch  in  diameter  at  the  mouth-piece.  The  pipe  was  evidently 
shaped  before  it  was  drilled,  as  the  small  aperture  is  not  m  the 
center  of  the  mouth-piece,  the  drill  having  pierced  the  small  end  at 
one  side  near  the  outer  rim.  A  rotary  flint  drill  must  have  been 
used,  probably  with  the  aid  of  a  bow  and  string,  as  a  regular  series 
of  circular  strise  made  by  the  revolving  drill  point  can  plainly  be 
seen  opposite  the  fracture.  Talcose  slate  is  much  harder  than 
steatite,  the  stone  generally  used  in  making  flue  pipes.  We  have 
never  seen  a  finer  specimen  of  aboriginal  mechanical  work  in  stone. 
The  old  pipe  maker  who  drilled  and  finished  this  tube  must  also 
have  had  considerable  artistic  taste,  as  the  clean  cut  circular  form, 
inside  and  out,  is  exact  and  perfect  in  symmetry. 


*  Author's  collection. 


192 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


Another  illustrative  specimen  of  the  tube  pipe  form,  found  on 
the  Watson  farm,  in  Clay  county  (Middle  Tennessee),  is  represented 
in  Fig.  90.  The  pipe  is  carved  from  compact  limestone,  and  is 
nearly  seven  inches  in  length,  and  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
diameter  at  the  bowl  end.  It  is  broken  on  one  side  and  unfinished, 
having  probably  been  fractured  in  drilling  and  thrown  aside.  (The 
fracture  is  on  the  other  slde^  and,  to  avoid  confusion,  is  not  shown  in 
the  illustration.)  The  dotted  lines  in  the  figure  show  the  size  of 
the  bore,  and  indicate  very  plainly  the  method  of  drilling.  The 
bore  is  about  an  inch  in  diameter;  and  the  inside  core,  nearly  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  high,  and  about  a  half  inch  in  diameter,  still  re- 
maining in  the  center  of  the  bore,  is  plainly  to  be  seen,  especially 
from  the  fractured  side,  showing  that  a  hollow  cane  or  reed-drill, 


Fig.  90. — Tube  Pipe,  Clay  County.* 

with  sand  and  water,  was  probably  used  in  drilling.  A  hollow 
cane,  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  would  conveniently  fit 
around  the  central  core.  We  have  seen  no  specimen  showing  so 
well  how^  the  old  tubes  must  have  been  drilled.  These  two  stone 
pipes  give  the  collector  considerable  respect  for  the  ancient 
mechanics  of  the  Cumberland  valley.  Although  not  so  artistic  as 
some  of  the  other  pipe  forms,  they  are  as  fine  examples  of 
mechanical  skill. 

The  similarity  of  these  tubular  pipes  to  the  well-known  pipes 
used  by  the  ancient  tribes  of  California,  and  by  the  pueblo  and  clift' 
tribes,  also  gives  additional  interest  to  them. 

Fig.  91  presents  typical  examples  of  the  latter.     Nos.   1   and  2 


Johnson  collection. 


THE    PIPES. 


193 


are  California  tube  pipes  of  stone.*  No.  3  represents  a  Wolpi 
pueblo  pipe.f  And  No.  4,  a  tube  pipe  of  clay  of  the  ancient  cliiF 
dwellers.!  The  pueblo  type  has  been  found  both  in  stone  and  pot- 
tery. Curiously  enough,  the  California  tube  pipes  are  usually  made 
of  steatite  and  talcose  slate,  the  materials  of  which  many  of  our 
Tennessee  pipes  are  made.  These  tube  pipes  of  the  West,  of  this 
peculiar  form,  are  ancient  types  from  the  graves — not  now  in  use,  a 
fact  that  adds  interest  to  them  and  suggests  that  the  tube  pipes  of 
Tennessee,  or  their  forms,  may  have  been  derived  in  ancient  times 


Fig.   *J1. — Ancient  Tubk   Pipes  from    California — Ancient    I'ueulu    1'ipe — Cliff 

Dweller's  Pipe. 

from  the  California,  pueblo,  or  clifi"  tribes,  among  whom  they  were 
once  in  very  general  use.|l 

The  tube  pipe  seems  an   inconvenient  form,  but  it  must  be  re- 

*  Smithsonian  Report,  1886,  Part  I,  Plate  XV. 

t  Second  Annual  Eeport  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  page  379. 

t  Prehistoric  America  ( Nadaillac ) ,  page  256. 

II  The  stone  stem  pipes  (of  Calfornia,  tube  form)  are  taken  from  the  old  graves, 
and  this  kind  are  now  no  longer  in  use. — Otis  T.  Mason,  in  Smithsonian  Report, 
1886,  Part  I,  page  219. 

"The  hollow  tube  pipes  are  not  in  use  at  the  present  time  (in  the  pueblos),  but 
are  frequently  found  around  the  ruins  and  in  possession  of  the  Indians." — James 
Stevenson,  in  Second  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  page  378. 

Dr.  Cyrus  Thomas,  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  in  an  argument  based  upon  the 
distribution  of  pipe  forms,  states  that,  "  The  forms  of  pipes  indicate  that  the  mound 
builders  were  not  connected  with  the  Nahua,  Maya,  or  pueblo  tribes." — The  Prob- 
lem of  the  Ohio  Mounds,  page  39.  The  discovery  of  the  tube  pipes  illustrated  will 
correct  this  statement,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  pueblo  tribes. 

13 


194  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

membered  that  tlie  favorite  sitting-place  of  the  Indian  was  upon  the 
floor,  and  he  probably  enjoyed  his  tube  pipe  in  a  reclining 
position.*  A  few  tubes,  or  tube  pipes,  of  a  somewhat  different 
form,  have  been  occasionally  discovered  within  the  mound  districts 
of  the  Ohio  and  Cumberland  valleys.  They  have  an  almost  uni- 
form bore ;  and  if  pipes,  were  probably  used  with  a  separate  mouth- 
piece of  quill  or  hollow  bone,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  ancient 
tribes  of  California.  These  separate  mouth-pieces  are  found  still 
adhering  to  the  tube  pipes  found  in  the  graves  there.  It  is  by  no 
means  certain  that  they  were  used  as  pipes,  but,  for  want  of  a 
better  classificatiou,  they  are  generally  called  "  tube  pipes." 

A  very  beautiful  specimen  of  this  form  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  92. 
We  have  seen  no  examples  of  aboriginal  stone  carving  superior  to 


Fig.  92. — Tube  Pipe  of  Steatite  (OxE-THiRDj.t 

it  in  symmetry  of  form  or  finish.  The  pipe  is  of  dark  gray  steatite. 
Its  length  is  about  nine  inches.  At  the  larger  end  it  is  nearly  two 
inches  in  diameter.  It  was  found  in  excavating  "  King's  mound," 
near  Ashland,  Kentucky,  a  large  artificial  mound  of  an  ancient 
type.     The  pipe  must  therefore  be  regarded  as  probably  an  antique 

*  Mr.  Paul  Schumacher  states  that  the  Klamath  Indians  of  California  still  use  a 
tube  pipe  of  steatite,  and  that  it  has  amused  him  "to  see  them  bending  back  their 
heads  to  bring  the  pipe  in  a  vertical  position,  so  as  not  to  lose  any  tobacco." — 
Wheeler's  Survey,  Vol.  VII,  page  133. 

t  It  is  in  the  tine  collection  of  A.  E.  Douglass,  Esq.,  now  in  the  Museum  of 
Natural  History  of  New  York  City.  It  has  not  been  heretofore  illustrated,  except- 
ing in  the,  published  transactions  of  a  scientific  society  of  Paris,  France,  from  which, 
by  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Douglass,  we  obtained  an  engraved  copy. 


I 


THE    PIPES. 


195 


of  the  mound  building  period,  and  thus  gives  useful  evidence  of  the 
probable  age  of  similar  types.  Squier  and  Davis,  in  their  valuable 
work,  present  an  illustration  of  a  tube  or  pipe  of  similar  form,  with 
a  grotesque  bird  figure  upon  it.* 


I 


Fig.  93. — Tube  Pipe  ( One-third). t 

The  pipe  or  tube  of  grey-green  steatite  represented  in  Fig,  93 
is  of  the  same  typical  form.]: 

It  is  in  a  rude  and  uniinished   state,  the  work  of  drilling  the 


Fig.  94. — Platform  Base  Pipe,  an  Ohio  Type  (One-half). || 


hole  through  the  cylinder  being  also  incomplete,  but  it  gives  a  cor- 
rect idea  of  the  general  form  of  these  objects. 

Other  and  somewhat  similar  cylindrical  tubes  or  "  telescopes," 

*  Ancient  Monuments  of  Mississippi  Valley,  page  225. 
t  Faller  collection,  Nashville. 

t  Mr.  Faller  died  some  years  since,  and  left  no  information  regarding  this  pipe, 
excepting  that  it  was  from  Tennessee, 

II  Collection  of  Dr.  Thomas  Black,  of  McMinnville. 


196  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

with  a  uniform  bore,  will  be  considered  in  the  chapter  upon  smooth 
stone  implements. 

A  beautiful  specimen  of  the  "  stone  stem  pipe,"  with  flat  or 
platform  base  slightly  curved,  is  shown  in  Fig.  94.  It  was  found 
near  Short  Mountain,  Warren  county,  Middle  Tennessee.  One  of 
the  same  general  form  (Fig.  95),  unfortunately  imperfect,  was 
recently  found  near  the  ancient  cemetery,  on  the  Noel  farm,  south 
of  ITashville.  They  are  of  rich  black  steatite,  with  a  glossy,  lus- 
trous  surface.     Dr.   J.  F.   Grant,   of  Pulaski,   Tennessee,  south  of 


Fig.  95. — Steatite  Pipe,  Nashville,  Tennessee  (One-half).* 

!N^ashville,  has  a  specimen  in  his  collection  of  the  same  form,  from 
that  section. 

The  stem  holes  are  but  about  a  sixth  of  an  inch  in  diameter — 
some  of  them  even  smaller — and  have  been  drilled  with  delicate 
precision.  These  small  stem  holes  and  stone  mouth-pieces  are 
characteristics  of  the  fine  platform  curved  base,  and  animal-form 
pipes,  discovered  in  the  elaborate  mounds  of  the  Scioto  valley  in 
Ohio.  The  latter  mark  the  period  of  the  highest  development  in 
the  art  of  stone  carving  reached  by  the  mound  builders  of  the 
Mississippi  valley.  It  must  have  required  much  skill  and  practice 
to  enable  the  old  pipe  makers  to  execute  this  fine  work  with  the 
primitive  tools  at  their  disposal.     A  fine  needle  of  wood  or  reed,  or 

*  Author's  collection. 


THE    PIPES.  197 

possibly  a  needle  or  drill  of  bone  or  hammered  copper,  may  have 
been  used  for  this  purpose.  With  the  aid  of  sand  and  water,  and 
with  a  bow  and  string  to  cause  the  needle  to  revolve,  these  delicate 
perforations  might  have  been  made,  by  an  expert  artisan,  blessed 
with  a  plentiful  store  of  patience. 

The  beautiful  stone  stem  pipe  from  Geddes  Island,  on  the  Ten- 
nessee river  (Fig.  96),  has  one  of  these  small,  carefully  drilled  stem 
holes,  about  eight  inches  long.  It  is  a  marvel  of  artistic  work  in 
this  line.  The  stem  is  flat,  thin,  and  tapering,  like  some  of  the 
finest  platform  pipes  of  Ohio.  Its  symmetrical  form  is  not  well 
represented  in  the  engraving. 

Platform  pipes  with  stone  stems  were  not  common  in  ancient 
Tennessee,  as  but  few  of  them  have  been  found,  but  the  presence 


I 


I 


Fig.  96. — Pipe  from  East  Tennessee  (One-third).* 

here  of  these  typical  forms  indicates  intercourse  or  commercial  re- 
lations with  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Ohio  valley  and  the 
North-east. 

A  few  pipes  of  this  type  have  been  found  as  far  to  the  eastward 
as  New  England.  The  general  distribution  of  the  various  forms  of 
pipes  is  another  illustration  of  the  extent  of  intercourse  and  com- 
munication during  the  prehistoric  period  between  the  widely  sepa- 
rated tribes  of  ISTorth  America.  The  presence  of  the  platform  pipes 
of  the  Ohio  type  in  Middle  Tennessee  seems  to  confirm  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  northern  Indians  that  the  mound  builders  of  the  Ohio 
valley,  when  forced  from  their  homes,  retired  to  the  southward. 

The  pipe  shown  in  Fig.  97,  carved  in  imitation  of  an   eagle  or 

®  General  J.  T.  Wilder's  collection. 


198- 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


hawk,  was  plowed  up  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  R.  C.  Phillips,  near  Hills- 
boro.  Coffee  county,  Tennessee.  It  is  of  light  gray  steatite,  and  is 
of  an  unusual  form,  the  stem  hole  being  large  and  in  the  front  or 
breast  of  the  bird. 


Fig.  97. — Pipe  from  Coffee  County,  Tennessee  (One-third). 

A  much  iiner  pipe  of  dark  gray  steatite,  modeled  in  the  form 
of  a  duck  or  some  web-footed  bird,  with  a  large  funnel-shaped  stem 
hole  in  the  breast  in   front,  is  represented  in  Fig.   98.     It  is   eight 


Fig.  98. — Duck  PiPif  (One-third).* 

and  one-fourth  inches  long,  and  is  one  of  the  best  and  most 
elaborate  pieces  of  carving  we  have  seen.  It  weighs  three  and  one- 
fourth  pounds.  We  do  not  know  of  a  duck  or  bird  having  a  bill  of 
this  form.     Some  variety  of  water-fowl  was,  doubtless,  in  the  mind 


"•■■  Author's  collection. 


THE    PIPES. 


199 


of  the  pipe  maker,  as  the  feet  are  webbed.  "We  have  a  pottery 
duck  or  bird  head  from  one  of  the  stone  grave  cemeteries  with  a 
similar  blunt  bill.  This  fine  pipe  was  found  in  Etowah  county, 
Alabama,  one  of  the  northern  counties  of  the  state,  near  Attalla,  in 
1885  (on  the  Smith  farm,  near  Walnut  Grove). 


f 


Fig.  99. — Pipe  of  Catlinite,  Noel  Cemetery,  Nashville  (Four-fifths).* 

The  broken  pipe  illustrated  in  Fig.  99  has  an  interesting  his- 
tory. It  was  carved  in  bright  red  catlinite  from  the  pipe  stone 
ledge  of  Western  Minnesota,  and  still  has  the  brilliant  jasper- 
colored  surface  characteristic  of  that  stone.  It  was  found  in  ex- 
ploring the  stone  grave  cemetery  of  the  ]*Toel  farm  near  l^ashville. 
We  were  unable  to  ascertain  with  certainty  whether  it  was  found 
within  a  grave  or  in  the  adjacent  earth,  although  we  obtained  it 
from  George  Wood,  one  of  our  employes,  on  the  day  he  discov- 
ered it. 

The  bowl  is  perfect,  but  the  large,  thin,  circular  disc  that 
originally  surrounded  the  funnel-shaped  stem  hole  is  broken,  and 
but  a  small  portion  of  it  remains.  This  pattern  of  pipes,  although 
rare,  is  well  known  to  archaeologists. 


*  Author's  collection. 


200  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

The  beautiful  disc  pipe,  found  in  Kentucky  (Fig.  100),  shows 
the  form  of  the  original  disc  that  belonged  to  our  Tennessee 
pipe.  It  is  about  three  inches  in  diameter.  This  was  probably  the 
fashionable  smoking  pipe  of  its  day  in  certain  sections.  The  disc 
was  doubtless  a  mere  conceit,  used  as  an  ornamental  handle  by 
the  Indian  dandies  of  the  time.* 


Fig.  100. — Catlinite  Pipe,  Kentucky  (Two-thirds). 

So  far  as  we  are  informed,  the  pipe  illustrated  in  Fig.  99  is  the 
only  specimen  of  ancient  red  pipe  stone  or  catlinite  yet  discovered 
in  Tennessee.  When  Longfellow  in  his  Song  of  Hiawatha  tells 
us  that  the  dusky  sons  of  the  forest  came  from  afar,  even  '■'■from 
the  groves  of  Tuscaloosa  "  to  the  quarries  of  Western  Minnesota  for 
this  beautiful  pipe  stone,  his  imagination  was  probably  responsi- 
ble for  the  expression,  but  the  discovery  of  a  catlinite  pipe  in  an 

*  Fig.  100  was  copied  from  an  engraving  of  the  Kentucky  disc  pipe  in  "  Prehis- 
toric Eemains  of  Kentucky,"  Geological  Survey  of  Kentucky  (Carr  and  Shaler), 
Plate  VI.  It  belongs  to  the  collection  of  R.  S.  Munford,  of  Eowlett's  Station,  Ken- 
tucky. 


THE    PIPES. 


201 


ancient  Tennessee  cemetery,  not  far  from  the  domain  of  the 
old  Alabama  chief,  Tuscaloosa,  in  part,  at  least,  verities  the  poet's 
statement. 


Fig.  101. — Disc  Pipe,  East  Tennessee  (Three-fourths).* 


A  pipe  of  the  same  general  form  (Fig.  101),  of  oolitic  lime- 
stone, was  found  near  Chattanooga,  Tennessee. f 

We  now  come  to  a  class  of  pipes  of  somewhat  doubtful  an- 
tiquity— the   large    stone    calumets.     Their    unusual    size,  peculiar 

®  General  Wilder's  collection. 

t  These  disc  pipes,  botli  in  catlinite  and  other  stones,  although  rare,  seem  to 
have  been  witlely  distributed.  Two  or  three  of  them  have  been  found  in  Canada 
(see  Report  of  the  Canadian  Institute,  pages  26,  27.  Toronto,  1S87-<S),  and  we  no- 
ticed in  the  collection  of  Mr.  A.  E.  Douglass,  at  the  ^Museum  of  Natural  History  in 
New  York,  a  half-dozen  very  fine  specimens,  all  from  three  of  the  central  counties 
of  Missouri  (Boone,  Saline,  and  Chariton),  apparently  indicating  that  that  section 
may  have  been  the  original  center,  where  they  were  first  manufactured  and  used. 
The  stem  holes,  although  small,  are  funnel-shaped.  This  we  regard  as  an  indication 
of  an  old  type. 


202 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


forms,  and  the  uses  to  which  they  have  been  apphed  as  "  pipes  of 
peace,"  and  objects  of  tribal  veneration,  lend  special  interest  to 
their  history.  They  are  usually  in  the  form  of  birds  and  animals. 
Some  of  them  are  prehistoric,  and  probably  of  great  age  ;  others 
are  of  comparatively  modern  date.  As  heretofore  stated,  the 
early  discoverers  report  that  most  of  the  tribes  of  historic  In- 
dians manufactured  and  used  them.  Even  the  Indians  of  Virginia, 
east  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  whose  arts  were  more  primitive 
than  arts  of  the  tribes  within  the  mound  districts,  used  these  large 
pipes.     The    Cherokees    and    other   tribes   of    Tennessee    and    the 


Fig.  102. — Duck  Pipe,  Smith  County  (Oxe-fourtii).* 

Carolinas  manufactured  them;  therefore,  unless  found  in  the 
mounds  or  stone  graves,  they  may  be  of  comparatively  recent  date. 
One  of  the  finest  specimens  of  this  form,  a  gray  steatite  pipe 
from  Smith  county,  Tennessee,  is  in  the  collection  of  the  Tennessee 
Historical  Society  (Fig.  102.)  It  is  sixteen  inches  long,  and  weighs 
nearly  six  pounds. 


Fig.  103. — Bird  Pipe,  Warren  County  (One-fourth).! 

As  Captain  Smith  said  of  the  old  Virginia  pipes,  it  is  plenty 
"  laro-e  enough  to  beat  out  one's  brains."  The  Tennessee  Historical 
Society  has  another  fine  pipe,  in  form  and  size  almost  a  duplicate 
of  the  one  illustrated. 

••■■  Tennessee  Historical  Society  collection, 
t  Terry  collection. 


THE    PIPES. 


203 


The  duck  was  a  favorite  model  of  the  old  pipe  carvers  and  pot- 
tery makers  of  Tennessee.  It  was  a  totem  or  emblem  of  some  of 
the  modern  tribes. 

In  the  fine  collection  of  Mr.  James  Terry,  now  in  the  Museum 
of  Natural  History  in  New  York  Cit}^  there  is  a  large  bird  pipe  or 
calumet,  plowed  up  on  the  Patterson  farm  near  McMinnville,  Ten- 
nessee, of  the  same  general  form  as  Fig.  102,  but  with  the  long  beak 


Fig.  10-4. — Flying  Bird  Pipe,  Andersson  County  ( One-fourth )."* 

of  the  toucan  or  some  southern  bird  t  (Fig.  103).  The  beak  is  also 
somewhat  like  that  of  the  wild  turkey  and  other  home  birds.  The 
pipe  is  sixteen  inches  long,  is  carved  from  green  steatite,  and  is 
finely  polished. 

In  the  Terry  collection  there  is  also  a  fine  steatite  pipe,  thirteen 
and  a  quarter  inches  long,  of  the  flying  bird  pattern,  from  Clinch 
river,  Anderson  county,  Tennessee  (Fig.  104). 


Fig.  105. — Another  View  of  8ame  Pipe. 
The  illustration  shows  its  form  (piite  correctly.      A.nother  view, 

■■■■  Terry  collection. 

t  Mr.    Terry  suggests  that   the   bird   represented   is   the  "cava  cava;    habitat," 
Texas,  Florida,  and  California." 


204 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


showing  the  bowl    and  extended  wings,  is  presented    in  Fig.  105. 
In  the   Douglass  collection,  now  in  the  same  museum  in   Central 


Fig.  106. — Flying  Bird  Pipe  (One-third).* 

Park,  New  York,  there  is  a  flying  bird  pipe,  of  talcose  schist,  of  the 
same  general  form,  from  Polk  county,  Tennessee. 

The  fine  flying  bird  pipe  represented  in  outlines  in  Fig.  106,  is 
also  in  the  Douglass  collection,  and  is  the  most  perfect  specimen  of 
this  pattern  we  have  seen.  It  was  carved  from  green  steatite,  and 
was  discovered  in  Northern  Georgia.  A  similar  pipe  of  steatite, 
with  widely  extended  wings,  and  as  well  carved,  was  found  in  Smith 
county,  Middle  Tennessee,  and  is  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  W.  E. 
Myer,  of  Carthage,  but  unfortunately  it  is  badly  broken. 

Fig  107  presents  another  type  of  these  large  calumets.  It 
weighs  over  five  pounds,  and  is  carved  from  finely  colored  gray- 
green  steatite,  in  imitation  probably  of  the  head  of  a  wolf  or  fox. 
We  noticed  it  years  ago  performing  humble  service  in  holding  back 
the  heavy  front  door  at  the  fine  mansion  of  the  Rev.  A.  L.  P. 
Green,  D.D.,  near  Nashville.  Dr.  Green  reported  that  it  was  plowed 
up  at  an  early  period  in  Maury  county,  Tennessee. f 

■■■-"  Douglass  collection 

t  Mrs.  Thomas  D.  Fite,  of  Nashville,  daughter  of  Dr.  Green,  kindly  presented 


THE    PIPES. 


205 


Fig.  108  is  a  fine  representation  of  a  bird  pipe  of  gray-green 
steatite,  of  the  monitor  bowl  form.  It  is  so  symmetrical  in  its  out- 
lines, that  it  must  have  been  carved  by  the  hand  of  a  master  among 


Fig.  107. — Stone  Pipe,  Maury  County  (One-fourth),* 

the  old  pipe  makers.  For  a  half  century  or  more  it  has  been  in 
the  Jackson  collection,  at  the  Hermitage,  and  is  regarded  by  the 
Jackson  family  as  a  Middle  Tennessee  pipe,  but  its  label  and  exact 
history  have  been  lost.f 


Fig.  108. — Stone  Pipe  (One-pourth).! 

The  stone  pipe  of  bird  form,  with  the  large  monitor  bowl  (Fig. 

this  fine  pipe  to  the  author.  A  pipe  with  nearly  the  same  head  and  general  form  was 
found  in  one  of  the  ancient  mounds  of  the  Scioto  valley,  near  Chillicothe,  Ohio. — 
Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  page  258. 

*  Author's  collection. 

t  It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  President  Andrew  Jackson,  at  his  home 
at  the  Hermitage,  had  a  most  interesting  cabinet  of  relics.  It  embraced  a  number 
of  fine  stone  pipes,  ancient  medals  and  coins,  old  china,  and  many  antiques  of  great 
historical  and  antiquarian  interest.  They  are  now  the  property  of  the  Hermitage 
Memorial  Association.  Colonel  Andrew  Jackson,  of  the  Hermitage,  kindly  loaned 
us  this  pipe  and  other  relics,  to  be  photographed  and  engraved. 

t  Hermitage  collection. 


206 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


109),  was  plowed  up  many  years  ago  on  tlie  old  Donelson  farm, 
adjoining  the  Hermitage  farm  of  President  Jackson.  It  is  of  light- 
gray  steatite,  and  is  the  property  of  Captain  Alexander  Donelson. 

The  pipe  with  the  wolf  or  fox  head  (Fig.  110),  is  in  the  collec- 
tion of  the  Columbia  Institute,  at  Columbia,  Tennessee.     It  is  of 


Fig.  109. — Bird  Pipe,  Davidson  County  (One-thied 


dark,  rich,  well-polished  steatite,  as  we  remember  it,  and  was  found 
in  Hickman  county,  Tennessee. 

These  finely  carved  stone  calumets  in  the  form  of  birds  and 
animals  must  have  been  very  numerous  in  ancient  Tennessee,  both 
in  the  middle  and  eastern  sections  of  the  state.  A  great  number  of 
them  have  been  discovered ;  more  of  the  large  pipes,  indeed,  than 
have  probably  been  found  in  any  other  state. 


Fig.  110. — Stone  Pipe,  Hickman  County  (One-fourth).* 


Dr.  Joseph  Jones  has  illustrations  of  two  very  fine  specimens 
in  his  work.  The  Tennessee  Historical  Society  has  a  half  dozen 
of  them.  There  are  some  of  them  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
and  in  the  Douglass  and  Terry  collections  in  the  Museum  of 
Natural   History   in    New   York   City    (not   illustrated).      General 

*  Columljia  Institute  collection. 


THE    PIPES. 


207 


"Wilder,  Bishop  Quintard,  Warren  K.  Moorcliead,  Dr.  Black, 
Captain  Johnson,  Dr.  Duncan  Eve,  and  other  collectors,  have  fine 
specimens,  but  our  time  has  been  so  limited  that  we  have  not  been 
able  to  present  illustrations  of  them. 


#? 


Fig.  111. — Bird  Pipe,  Maury  County  (One-third). 

Fig.  Ill  is  a  spirited  illustration  of  an  ancient  pipe  in  the  fine 
collection  of  the  Rev.  C.  Foster  Williams,  of  Maury  county,  Ten- 
nessee. It  is  of  blue  gray  stone,  and  was  found  in  that  county. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  bowl,  there  is  a  small,  carefully  drilled  hole, 
evidently  made  for  the  purpose  of  draining  or  cleaning  it.  We 
know  of  no  other  ancient  pipe  having  this  peculiarity. 

The  beautiful  pipe  carved  in  imitation  of  an  alligator.  Fig.  112, 


Fig.  112. — Stone  Pipe,  Davidson  County  (Two-thirds). 

is  in  the  collection  of  Dr.  John  B.  Lillard,  formerly  of  Nashville. 
It  was  plowed  up  on  the  l>radford  fiirm,  in  the  midst  of  the  stone 
grave  cemeteries,  a  few  miles  south  of  Nashville,  a  number  of  years 


208 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


ago.  It  has  been  carved  from  slate  or  shale — is  finely  polished,  and 
is  one  of  the  most  artistic  pieces  of  carving  in  stone  yet  discovered. 
In  our  opinion,  it  equals  the  best  types  of  art  in  pipe  carving  found 
in  the  Ohio  valley  or  Iowa.  The  material  of  which  it  is  made  is 
much  harder  than  the  steatite  usually  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
the  tine  Ohio  pipes. 

The  stem  hole  is  comparatively  small,  and  of  uniform  diameter, 
like  the  stem  holes  of  the  pipes  of  the  historic  tribes  and  of  the 
early  French  traders.  We  do  not,  therefore,  regard  this  pipe  as  a 
very  ancient  type,  but  it  is  a  genuine  antique  of  much  interest. 
Pipes  in  imitation  of  alligators  were  found  by  Squier  and  Davis  in 
the  Scioto  mounds.  They  corroborate  the  many  other  evidences  of 
ancient  intercourse  between  the  mound  building  tribes  of  Ohio  and 
the  tribes  of  the  far  South.  The  alligator  was  a  totem  or  family 
emblem  of  both  the  Creeks  and  the  Chickasaws,  and  probably  of 
other  southern  tribes.* 

We  have  presented  illustrations  of  some  of  the  fine  stone  pipes 
discovered  in  Tennessee  and  the  states  adjacent,  and  have  en- 
deavored to  classify  them  in  part  in  the  order  of  their  probable  age. 


Fig.  113. — Stone  Pipe,  Sumner  County,  Tennessee  (Two-fifths). t 


In  considering  this  subject,  some  attention  should  be  given  to 
the   more  familiar  plain,  square,  and  round  bowl  pipes,  quite   com- 

■•••  Ancient  Society  (Morgan),  pages  161,  163. 
t  Author's  collection. 


THE    PIPES.  209 

moil  ill  this  general  section.  They  do  not  differ  materially  from 
the  ordinary  types  fonnd  elsewhere  in  the  Mississippi  valley.  Ex- 
pert collectors  can  usually  distinguish  the  very  old  pipes  from  com- 
paratively modern  specimens  by  their  large  funnel-shaped  stem 
holes  and  other  peculiarities. 

Fig.  113  represents  an  ancient  pipe  of  the  familiar  square  form. 
Several  varieties  of  this  type  and  of  the  round  bowl  form  may  be 
found  in  the  Historical  Society's  collection  and  in  the  author's  col- 
lection. The  same  pattern  may  be  observed  in  the  pictograph  on 
stone  of  the  group  of  mound  builders  (Plate  II).  In  investigating 
the  arts  of  the  ancient  pipe  makers,  and  thereby  endeavoring  to  as- 
certain the  status  of  the  prehistoric  tribes  in  the  scale  of  civilization, 
we  have  for  many  years  carefully  observed  the  work  of  the  pipe 
makers  among  the  historic  tribes.  We  liave  patiently  watched  the 
Dakota  Indians  when  they  were  engaged  in  carving  and  polishing 
their  fine  catlinite  pipes,  generally  with  the  aid  of  no  better  tools 
than  common  pocket  knives.  The  art  of  pipe  carving  was  one  of 
the  few  prehistoric  Indian  arts  that  remained  after  the  advent  of  the 
Europeans,  and  after  the  art  of  making  pottery  and  flint  imple- 
ments bad  been  forgotten. 

For  |)nrposes  of  comparison,  we  have  collected  specimens  of 
the  pipes  of  the  Cherokees,  and  of  a  number  of  modern  tribes,  and 
have  arranged  them  upon  a  shelf  in  our  cabinet  beside  the  antique 
types.  Contact  with  the  whites  and  with  European  art  has,  of 
course,  had  its  influence  upon  the  carving  of  the  historic  Indians. 

The  theory  tbat  the  mound  building  tribes  belonged  to  a  dis- 
tinct and  superior  race,  and  that  their  arts  and  industries  were 
very  much  in  advance  of  the  historic  tribes,  we  think  can  not  be  es- 
tablished by  comparing  the  ancient  with  the  modern  pipes,  as  some 
of  tbe  latter  equal  the  best  specimens  of  pipe  carvings  discovered  in 
the  mounds. 

The  series  of  both  types  show  the  art  instinct  or  natural  appre- 
ciation of  art  among  the  nati\'e  tribes,  and  add  to  the  many  other 
indications  of  the  homogeneous  character  of  the  red  Indian  race. 
14 


210 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


To  enable  our  readers  to  compare  the  various  carvings,  we  pre- 
sent a  number  of  illustrative  specimens  of  modern  or  comparatively 
modern  pipes. 

Fig.  114  is  a  poor  illustration  of  a  beautiful  pipe  of  brilliant  red 


Fig.  114. — A  Dakota  Pipe  (Two-fifths)."* 

catlinite,  carved  in  the  form  of  a  hatchet.     We  obtained  it  years 
ago  in  Dakota  Territory,  from  a  Sioux  chief,  who  made  it.     It  is 


Fig.  115. — Pipes  op  a  Modern  Chief.! 


as    symmetrical   and   as    highly  polished  as  if  made  by  a  skillful, 
educated  lapidary. 

*  Author's  collection. 

t  From  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  page  230.  In  the  Smith- 
sonian Report  of  1885,  Part  II,  page  410,  many  of  the  fine  catlinite  pipes  of  the 
Mandans  and  other  trilii'S  are  well  illustrated.  Several  of  them  are  carved  in  the 
form  of  men  and  animals. 


THE    PIPES. 


211 


Specimens  of  the  work  of  the  modern  Indians  in  red  pipe  stone 
are  also  shown  in  Fig.  115.  The  finely  carved  pipe  was  nsed  by  the 
famons  and  eloquent  Indian  chief,  Keokuk,  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 


I 


Fig.  116. — A  Chinook  Pipe  (Two-thirds).* 

of  the  North-west.  We  have  a  number  of  Sioux  pipes  of  the  same 
general  form,  some  of  them  artistically  inlaid  with  lead.  The  au- 
thors of  the  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  expressed 


Fig.  117.— An  Iroquois  Pipe  (Actum,  Size). 

the  opinion  tbat  pipes  of  this  class  do  not  show  the  high  order  of  art 
disjjlayed  in  the  pipe  sculptures  of  birds  and  animals  discovered  by 


*■  Author's  collection. 


212 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENXESSEE. 


them  in  tlie  Scioto  mounds.  This  may  be  in  part  true.  We  have, 
however,  in  our  collection,  a  bird  pipe  (Fig.  116),  carved  by  a  Chin- 
ook Indian,  which,  as  a  specimen  of  carving  in  stone,  equals  in 
artistic  execution  and  delicacy  of  finish,  some  of  the  best  ancient 
types  of  Ohio.  It  is  about  the  size  of  the  Ohio  pipes,  and  was 
carved  from  rich,  dark-green  steatite.  The  Chinooks  or  Flat- 
heads,  of  the  Columbia  river,  were  a  fishing  tribe  of  low  grade  in 
the  scale  of  civilization.* 

The  Iroquois  pipe  (Fig.  117)  was  dug  in  an  old  Iroquois  ceme- 
tery in  New  York,  in  1888,  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Adams,  of  Mapleton, 
New  York.  It  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the  clay  pipes  manufactured 
within  the  historic  period  by  the  Indians  of  that  tribe,  and  belongs 
to  a  Avell-known  Iroquois  type.f 

Fig.  118  is  a  fine  example  of  the  stone  carvings  of  the  Ilaidah 
Indians  of  the  north-west  coast  of  America.  It  is  a  pipe  of  black 
slate,  brilliantly  polished.     In  skill  and  delicacy  of  execution,  and  in 


Fig.  118. — Slate  Pipe,  North-west  Coast  Indians  (Two-fifths). | 


its  general  appearance,  it  resembles  the  fine  jade  carvings  of  the 
Chinese  and  Japanese,  indicating  the  probable  ancient  Asiatic 
origin  of  this  art  faculty.  It  belongs  to  the  Jackson  collection  at 
the  Hermitage,   and  was    doubtless   presented    many    years  ago  to 

*  This  fine  pipe  was  presented  by  the  Chinook  Indian  who  made  it  to  Colonel 
Thomas  Claiborne,  of  Nashville,  in  1850,  when  he  was  stationed  in  Oregon  as  an 
officer  of  the  United  States  army.  Colonel  Claiborne  kindly  added  it  to  our 
collection. 

t  Mr.  Adams  kindly  sent  us  the  electrotype  for  this  engraving. 

t  Hermitage  collection,  Nashville. 


THE    PIPES.  213 

President  Jackson.  The  small  stem  hole  runs  through  the  elab- 
orate  network  of  figures  to  the  howl.  "We  have  a  carved  slate  pipe 
made  by  the  Thlinkets,  a  neighboring  tribe  of  the  north-west  coast, 
nearly  equaling  it  in  artistic  execution. 

These  Indians,  the  Haidas,  Thlinkets,  and  other  tribes,  were 
probably  less  civilized  than  some  of  the  historic  Indians  of  the  early 
frontier.  They  lived  in  rude  huts  in  a  semi-savage  state,  yet  in 
some  of  the  arts,  especially  in  wood  and  stone  carvings,  they  excel 
all  other  tribes  of  ISTorth  American  Indians.  Some  of  their  pipe 
carvings,  we  think,  surpass  the  best  examples  of  this  art  yet  discov- 
ered in  the  mounds  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  The  fine  typical  pipes 
of  the  mound  builders  illustrate  the  culture  of  the  most  advanced 
tribes  of  Xorth  American  Indians  at  the  period  of  their  highest 
development.  They  are  sometimes  remarkable  examples  of  indi- 
vidual skill,  but  they  can  not  be  regarded  as  representing  a  different 
or  superior  race. 


214  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


CHIPPED   STONE   IMPLEMENTS. 

The  Stone  Age — The  Flint  Chippers  of  Tennessee — The  Arrow  Makers — The  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  Implements — The  Axes — The  Adze  Forms — The 
Small  Tools — The  Chisels — Cutting  Knives — The  Daggers — Double-barbed 
Spears — The  Long  Knives,  Swords,  and  Spears — The  Large  Ceremonials — The 
Chipped  Stone  Scepters — The  Unique  Implements  and  Family  Totems — The 
Crawfish  Totem — The  System  of  ^Totems — The  Turtle  Totems — Disc  Forms. 

The  bronze  and  iron  ages  in  the  history  of  the  early  inhabitants 
of  Europe,  were  unknown  in  ancient  America.  There  was  a  lim- 
ited knowledge  of  smelting  and  of  the  uses  of  bronze  and  copper 
among  the  Toltecs,  Aztecs,  and  the  old  Peruvians,  arid  of  the  malle- 
ability of  native  copper  among  the  ruder  tribes,  but  the  uses  of  iron 
were  unknown  even  to  Mexican  and  Peruvian  civilization.  The 
ancient  Scandinavians,  the  Lake  Dwellers  of  Switzerland,  and  other 
primitive  inhabitants  of  Central  Europe,  learned  at  a  remote  period 
to  smelt  metals  in  rude  furnaces;  a  knowledge  possibly  borrowed 
from  Phoenicia  or  the  East :  and  several  of  the  savage  tribes  of  Africa 
knew  something  of  the  smelting  and  the  welding  arts,  perhaps  from 
contact  with  the  early  civilization  upon  the  lower  Nile;  but  the 
natives  of  the  isolated  double  continent  of  America  were  slow  to 
acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  arts  of  metallurgy,  especially  of  the 
more  difficult  processes  of  utilizing  the  ores  of  iron ;  and  north  of 
Mexico  the  stone  age  continued  down  to  the  period  of  European 
settlements. 

With  the  advent  of  the  whites,  the  weapons,  implements,  and 
tools  of  stone  disappeared  from  use,  almost  immediately  and  entirely. 
We,  therefore,  have  little  historic  evidence  regarding  them.  From 
the  ancient  remains  found  within  her  borders,  however,  we  have 
ample  evidence  that  the  inhabitants  of  ancient  Tennessee  were  ex- 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS.  215 

pert  flint  chippers.  None  of  the  monnd  building  tribes  excelled 
them  in  this  primitive  art.  In  fact,  we  doubt  whether  the  stone 
implements  of  this  class,  in  any  other  portion  of  ancient  America, 
north  of  Mexico,  equal  the  Tennessee  specimens  in  variety  and 
beauty  of  forms  and  materials.  Many  of  the  types  found  seem  to 
have  been  unknown,  even  to  the  advanced  tribes  that  erected  the 
great  mounds  of  the  Ohio  valley.  The  best  specimens  from  the 
north-eastern  states,  described  and  illustrated  by  Dr.  C.  C.  Abbott, 
are  rude  and  primitive  when  compared  with  them,*  and  even  the 
fine  flints  of  Georgia  and  other  southern  states,  described  by  Colonel 
C.  C.  Jones,!  do  not  appear  to  equal  the  art  of  the  flint  chippers 
of  Tennessee.  Nearly  all  known  American  types  are  represented 
here,  from  the  dainty  little  barbed  arrow  points  of  the  Pacific  coast 
type,  to  the  largest  flint  axes,  spades,  and  spears.  Leaf-shaped  and 
agricultural  implements,  spades,  chisels,  knives,  skinners,  scrapers, 
and  many  other  tools  used  in  the  primitive  industries,  and  often 
worn  smooth  by  use,  may  be  found  in  the  Tennessee  collections. 
The  longest  double-pointed  knife  or  spear- shaped  implement,  and 
the  longest  barbed  or  notched  spear  yet  discovered  in  America,  or 
elsewhere,  as  far  as  we  can  learn,  have  been  found  in  Middle  Ten- 
nessee, and  will  be  illustrated  in  this  chapter.  They  are  finely 
chipped  and  symmetrical  in  form.  Since  this  chapter  was  first 
written,  we  have  seen  the  pictures  and  descriptions  of  the  long  and 
beautiful  flints  of  the  California  Indians,  illustrated  in  Yol.  VII, 
"Wheeler's  Geographical  Survey,  Plates  7,  8,  and  9,  yet  we  do  not 
hesitate  to  say,  that  the  flints  of  the  Stone  Grave  race  ecj[ual  them 
in  workmanship,  and  surpass  them  in  size  and  variety  of  forms. 

Unique  implements,  totems,  ceremonials,  and  tools,  unknown 
to  even  the  neighboring  states,  are  found  here.  Their  curious 
shapes  often  surprise  antiquarians  from  other  sections.  Like  the 
remains  of  ancient  art  in  pottery,  they  indicate  that  the  tribes  who 
built  the   mounds   and   stone  graves  of  the  Cumberland  and  Ten- 

*  See  Primitive  Industry,  pages  77,  97. 

t  Antiquities  of  Southern  Indians,  Plates  VII,  VIII,  IX. 


216  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

nessee  valleys  were  as  advanced  in  culture  as  any  of  the  aborigines 
within  the  mound  districts. 

The  material  used  in  manufacturing  these  implements  abounded 
in  East  Tennessee  and  in  the  counties  of  the  "  Highland  Rim " 
that  surround  the  Silurian  basin  of  the  central  portion  of  the  state. 
Many  of  the  ancient  flint  pits  and  quarries,  and  the  remains  of 
the  old  work-shops,  may  still  be  seen. 

Flint,  jasper,  chert,  and  cherty,  and  silicious  limestones,  were 
generally  used,  but  arrows  and  implements  are  found  of  chalcedony, 
of  transparent  quartz,  and  of  quartzite  and  other  stones.  The  jas- 
pers occur  in  many  brilliant  colors.  The  old  arrow  and  implement 
makers  must  have  searched  far  and  wide  for  some  of  these  rich  ma- 
terials. There  is  a  popular  impression  that  the  method  of  making 
fine  flints  and  flakes  is  one  of  the  unknown  arts.  This  is  an  error. 
There  were  arrow-smiths  and  flint  chippers  in  most  of  the  modern 
tribes,  and  arrow  points  are  still  occasionally  made  by  some  of  the 
tribes  of  the  Far  West.  Good  specimens  of  the  stone  points  of  the 
ISTavajos,  Utes,  and  other  Indians,  firmly  fastened  to  wooden  shafts, 
may  be  seen  in  the  J^ational  Museum,  and  other  public  collections. 
The  methods  of  manufacturing  them  have  frequently  been  de- 
scribed.* 

■•■•  Captain  John  Smith,  writing  of  the  Indians  of  Virginia  in  1G06,  says :  "  His 
arrow-head  he  maketh  quickly  with  a  httle  bone  wliich  he  weareth  at  his  bracert 
(girdle)  of  any  splint  of  stone  or  glass,  in  the  form  of  a  heart,  and  these  they  glue  to 
the  end  of  their  arrows." — Quoted  in  Ancient  Stone  Implements  (Evans),  page  37. 

"The  Hupa  Indians,  of  California,  chip  arrow-heads  with  a  hard  deer-horn  fast- 
ened to  a  wooden  handle.  The  work  is  held  in  the  palm  of  the  liand,  which  is  i^ro- 
tected  by  a  buckskin  pad,  and  the  chips  are  flaked  off'  by  pressing  the  edge  of  the 
flint  Avith  the  tool  held  in  the  right  hand,  the  ball  ol  the  handle  resting  in  the 
palm.  The  Point  Barrow  Eskimo  also  press  downward  in  chipping  with  a  similar 
tool."— Otis  T.  Mason,  in  Smithsonian  Report,  1886,  Part  I,  page  226. 

"The  Viard  arrow  maker,"  says  Stephen  Powers,  "takes  a  piece  of  jasper, 
chert,  obsidian,  or  common  flint,  which  breaks  sharp-cornered  and  with  a  con- 
choidal  fracture ;  this  he  heats  in  the  fire  and  then  cools  slowly,  which  splits  it  in 
flakes;  then  taking  one  of  these  flakes,  he  gives  it  an  approxnnately  right  shape,  by 
striking  it  with  a  rough  hammer ;  then  slips  over  his  left  hand  a  piece  of  buckskin, 
with  a  hole  to  fit  over  the  thumb  (this  buckskin  is  to  prevent  the  hand  from  bein^? 


CHIPPED    STOXE    IMPLExMENTS.  217 

In  the  chipping  and  flaking  processes,  sometimes  percussion  or 
hammering  was  used  ;  sometimes  only  pressure.  A  small,  hard,  little 
bone  or  horn  implement  was  dexterously  and  steadily  pressed 
against  the  brittle  edges  of  the  flint  or  jasper,  and  thus  by  a  series 
of  delicate  flakings,  on  alternate  sides,  they  were  chipped  into  the 
desired  forms.  Necessity  would  soon  teach  the  most  inexperienced 
workman  to  fashion  rough  stones  into  convenient  shapes;  but  the 
finer  types  required  careful  manipulation,  and  only  experts  with 
practiced  eye  and  hand,  and  with  an  unusual  natural  appreciation 
of  artistic  forms,  could  have  produced  the  rare  and  beautiful  im- 
plements of  flint,  jasper,  and  chert  occasionally  found  in  Tennessee. 
Some  of  them  equal  the  art  work  in  obsidian  of  the  old  Mexicans. 

We  shall  not  attempt  to  present  paleolithic  types  of  flint  im- 
plements. In  the  vicinity  of  JSTashville  there  are  no  great  gravel- 
beds  or  glacial  deposits,  such  as  occur  in  some  other  sections  of  the 
United  States,  where  paheolithic  remains,  as  distinct  from  the  neo- 
lithic remains,  might  be  found.     We  find  many  flint  implements  of 

wounded),  and  in  his  right  hand  he  takes  a  pair  of  buck-horn  pincers,  tied  together 
at  the  point  with  a  thong.  Holding  tlie  jiiece  of  flint  in  his  left  hand,  he  breaks  off 
from  the  edge  of  it  a  tmy  fragment  with  the  pincers,  by  a  twisting  or  wrenching 
motion.  The  piece  is  often  reversed  in  the  hand,  so  that  it  may  be  worked  away 
symmetrically.  Arrow-head  manufacture  is  a  si^ecialty,  just  as  arrow  making,  medi- 
cine, and  other  arts.  These  pincers  are  probably  only  our  compound  chipper. 
With  the  Klamath  Indians,  a  piece  of  bone  is  fastened  to  a  wooden  shaft,  one  and  a 
half  feet  in  length,  the  working  point  of  which  is  crooked  and  raised  to  an  edge,  the 
force  employed  being  all  the  time  solely  pushing.  To  guide  the  instrument  with  a 
steady  hand,  the  handle  is  held  between  the  arm  and  the  breast,  while  the  point, 
with  but  little  play  room,  assisted  by  the  thumb,  works  the  edge  of  the  flake,  which 
again  is  held,  for  greater  safety,  in  a  piece  of  deer-skin.  After  the  two  sides  have 
been  worked  down  to  a  point,  then  another  instrument  is  required,  with  which  the 
barbs  and  projections  are  broken  out.  This  is  a  needle  or  awl  of  about  three  inches 
iu  length,  and,  by  a  pushing  motion,  the  desired  pieces  are  broken  out,  as  with  the 
fii'st-mentioned  tool." — Smithsonian  Report,  ISSti  (Otis  T.  Mason),  Part  I,  page  226. 

See  also  Geo.  E.  Sellers,  in  Smithsonian  Report,  1885,  Part  I,  page  871.  Mr. 
Sellers  now  resides  in  Chattanooga,  Tennessee.  When  recently  in  that  city,  Mr.  J. 
B.  Nicklen  handed  the  writer  a  number  of  well-made  flint  arrow  points  for  examina- 
tion. He  said  that  he  obtained  them  from  Mr.  Sidlers,  wlio  stated  that  he  had  made 
them.     They  did  not  difler  from  the  genuine  ordinary  types. 


218  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

rude  character,  but  we  can  not  feel  assured  that  any  of  them  should 
be  assigned  to  an  earlier  period  or  race  than  the  neolithic  imple- 
ments from  the  same  section.  Neither  shall  we  attempt  to  illus- 
trate many  of  the  ordinary  forms  of  chipped  stone  implements. 
They  are  found  in  every  section  of  the  country,  and  indeed,  in  all 
countries,  and  have  frequently  been  described.* 

The  rare  and  curious  types,  some  of  them  found  only  in  this 
state,  the  implements  used  by  the  aboriginal  mechanics,  and  the 
"  ceremonials  "  and  totems,  are  of  more  archaeological  interest,  and 
give  more  definite  evidence  as  to  the  conditiou  of  society  and  the 
state  of  the  arts  and  industries  of  the  prehistoric  period. 

We  also  find  it  impracticable,  with  the  limited  facilities  at  our 
disposal,  to  prepare  engravings  reproducing  with  exactness  the 
natural  chipped  or  flaked  surface  of  many  of  these  implements. 
Some  of  the  engravings  are  but  outline  sketches.  We  have,  how- 
ever, had  a  number  of  good  specimens  photo-engraved  by  the 
"  Moss  process,"  directly  from  the  objects  (Plates  XI,  XIII,  XIV), 
that  the  reader  may  have  a  more  correct  and  exact  impression  of 
thern  ;  and  most  of  the  small  engravings  have  been  prepared  with  the 
aid  of  photographic  outlines.  The  long,  double-pointed  implement 
in  Plate  XI  is  of  cherty  flint,  and  measures  twelve  inches.  It  is 
very  thin  and  delicately  formed,  no  part  of  it  being  over  a  third 
of  an  inch  in  thickness  (author's  collection).  The  sharply  pointed 
barbed  spear  of  yellow  jasper,  eight  inches  long  (Historical  Society 
collection),  is  a  marvel  of  the  chipping  art.  It  is  symmetrically 
beveled  on  both  sides,  in  rhombic  form,  as  if  to  give  it  a  rotary 
motion.  Two  arrow  points  are  similarly  beveled.  The  beautiful, 
curious,  hook-shaped  implement,  a  light  brown  flint,  is  seven  and 

■■•■  Arrow  points  of  stone,  antedating  the  period  of  earliest  Roman  history,  are 
plowed  up  on  the  CampagnU,  just  outside  of  the  walls  of  ancient  Rome.  They  oc- 
cur in  the  gravel  beds  of  the  Thames  and  Seine,  within  the  limits  of  London  and 
Paris.  They  were  unearthed  by  Schliemann  among  the  ruins  of  Mycenae ;  and 
chipped  flint  implements,  older  than  the  civilization  of  Egypt,  are  found  along  the 
banks  of  the  Lower  Nile,  in  the  vicinity  of  Thebes  and  Memphis.  These  remains 
of  primitive  man  seem  to  have  been  distributed  throughout  all  countries. 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


219 


a  half  inclies  long  (Historical  Society  collection).  The  other  objects 
illustrated  in  Plate  XI  are  of  fine  jasper  and  flint  (author's  collec- 
tion).    The  plate  presents  them  with  photographic  fidelity. 

Fine  examples  of  the  work  of  the  old  arrow-makers  are  shown 
in  Fig.  119.  The  two  small  points  were  chipped  from  translucent 
blue-gray  chalcedony.  They  are  very  similar  to  the  delicate  arrow 
points  found   in  J^ew  Mexico  and  along   the   Pacific   coast.     The 


Fig.  119. — Arrow  and  Spear  Points  (Actual  Size).* 

others  are  of  fine,  thin  jasper.  Arrows  with  the  double  or  forked 
Bhank  are  not  uncommon  in  this  section.  The  largest  specimen, 
of  red  and  pur[»le  hue,  was  probably  used  as  a  spear  point.  These 
objects  are  from  Middle  and  East  Tennessee.  There  seems  to  be 
no  limit  to  the  numbers  and  varieties  of  arrow  points.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  describe  or  illustrate  them  in  an  ordinary  vohime. 
A  number  of  the  unusual  forms  are  shown  in  Plate  XII.  It  in- 
cludes also  some  otber  objects  classified  as  drills  and  scrapers.f 

*  Author's  collection. 

t  The  specimens  illustrated  in  this  plate  were  selected  from  the  collections  of 
Jno.  G.  Cisco  and  the  author. 


220 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


Chipped  flint  implements,  used  for  other  purposes,  are  also 
numerous.  It  is,  in  fact,  difficult  to  classify  or  group  the  large 
amount  of  this  material  in  the  various  local  collections  at  l!^ash- 
ville  and  elsewhere  in  Tennessee. 

The  village  Indians  who  lived  in  the  towns,  forts,  and  settle- 
ments of  the  Cumberland  valley,  in  the  prehistoric  period,  must 
have  been  sufficiently  advanced  in  the  march  toward  civilization  to 
have  learned  the  use  of  a  variety  of  implements  of  stone,  wood, 
bone,  horn,  and  shell.  Sets  of  tools  of  chipped  and  polished  stone, 
evidently  the  outfit  of  some  ancient  lapidary  or  artisan,  are  occa- 


1  2  3  4 

Fig.  120. — Agricultukal  and   Mechanical  Implements,  Tennessee    (About   One- 
eighth). 


sionally  found  lying  together  in  the  same  grave.  Eight  well  made 
implements,  of  various  forms,  all  ground  or  polished  by  use,  were 
recently  found  by  Mr.  W.  AV.  Dosier  in  a  single  stone  grave  on  the 
bank  of  the  Cumberland  below  ISTashville,  lying  beside  three  useful 
implements  of  bone.  Mr.  Jno.  Blunkall  found  another  set,  mainly 
sharp  stone  chisels,  and  a  horn  handle,  with  a  deep  socket,  in  a 
neighboring  grave.  Caches  of  new  flints,  or  cherts,  in  large  num- 
bers, and  of  the  same  peculiar  forms,  are  also  found,  all  apparently 
just  as  they  left  the  w^ork-shop  of  some  old  stone  chipper. 

Fig.  120  gives  the  outlines  of  a  number  of  large  specimens, 
usually  classified  as  agricultural  and  mechanical  implements.  The 
originals  from  which  these  sketches  were  made,  as  they  lie  on  a 
table  before  the  writer,  form  an  interesting  group : 


I 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLExMENTS.  221 

'No.  1.  An  agricultural  implement  or  "  hoe,"  of  flint}-  chert, 
is  from  Madison  county  (J.  G.  Cisco's  collection).  It  is  about  eight 
inches  long,  is  slightly  curved,  and  is  symmetrical  in  form.  The 
type  is  unusual  in  Tennessee.  As  it  is  quite  common  in  Illinois, 
this  fine  hoe  may  have  been  an  importation,  in  ancient  times,  from 
that  section. 

No.  2.  Is  the  largest  perfect  fan-shaped  hoe  or  adze  we  have 
seen,  and  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the  chipping  art.  It  is  of  flinty 
chert  from  Stewart  county,  is  twelve  and  one-half  inches  long,  and 
eight  inches  wide  at  the  blade.  Although  so  large,  it  is  not  over 
an  inch  thick  at  the  center.  It  is  slightly  curved  or  adze-shaped, 
and  at  the  blade  end  is  symmetrically  beveled  to  a  thin,  sharp  edge. 
We  have  a  number  of  large  flints  of  this  form. 

No.  3.  A  handsome,  symmetric  leaf-shaped  type,  from  David- 
son county,  is  of  fine  chert — almost  a  pure  flint — and  is  nearly  four- 
teen inches  long.  The  blade  end  is  beautifully  chipped  to  a  fine  edge 
all  around.  Like  nearly  all  of  the  large  implements  of  this  outline, 
it  is  a  "turtle  back,"  or  adze-shaped  in  form.  This  type  is  not  un- 
common in  Middle  Tennessee.     We  have  several  similar  specimens. 

Several  years  ago  Dr.  Kirkpatrick,  who  resided  near  JSTashville, 
and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  stone  grave  cemetery  on  White's  creek, 
plowed  into  a  cache  of  a  dozen  or  more  fine  specimens,  nearly  all 
large,  and  of  this  general  form.  They  were  as  perfect  as  when 
they  left  the  old  stone  chipper's  shop.* 

No.  4.  A  paddle-shaped  flint  from  Stewart  county,  glossy 
with  use  at  the  blade  end,  is  ten  and  one-half  inches  long,  and 
is  as  symmetrical  and  delicately  chipped  as  a  fine  spear  point.  It 
is  also  slightly  curved  or  adze-shaped. 

No.  5.  Is  a  small  notched  hoe,  from  Davidson  county  (author's 
collection).     This  form  is  not  very  rare. 

Some  of  these  specimens  seem  to  be  too  brittle  and  delicately 
made  for  use  as  common  or  field  implements.  They  may  have  been 
used  as  adzes  in  chipping  the   charred  wood  from  the  trunks  of 

■•■■  We  are  indebted  to  Pr.  Kirkpatrick  for  several  of  the  finest  of  these  speci- 
mens. 


222 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


trees  burned  or  hollowed  out,  iu  making  canoes,  and  for  other  me- 
chanical purposes. 

After  Fig,  120  was  engraved,  it  seemed  to  represent  some  of 
these  fine  flints  so  indifferently,  that  we  have  had  four  typical  speci- 
mens (author's  collection)  photo-engraved  (Plate  XIII),  in  order  to 
give  a  more  correct  and  satisfactory  impression  of  them.  (The 
plate  represents  them  a  little  less  than  one-third  actual  sizes.) 
The  leaf-shaped  flint  illustrated  is  fourteen  inches  long,  and  the 
large  fan-shaped  specimen  is  twelve  and  one-half  inches  long  and 


Fig.  121. — Chipped  Flint  Adze,  Davidson  County  (One-half).* 

eight  inches  wide  at  the  blade.  These  measures  will  indicate  the 
dimensions  of  the  others.  These  fine  types  appear  to  be  rare  or 
unknown  in  other  portions  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  We  have  not 
observed  them  in  the  archaeological  collections  of  the  North,  They 
are  not  found  in  Great  Britain,  and  we  doubt  whether  the  large 
flints  of  Scandinavia  equal  them  in  size  and  symmetry  of  form. 

A  fine  type  of  the  adze  form  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  121.  The 
m.ost  skillful  lapidary  could  not  improve  upon  the  model  of  this 
tool,  or  cut  a  more  useful  adze  in  stone. f  These  large  and  slightly 
curved  implements  were  too  large  and  too  long  to  fasten  or  haft 
in  sockets.  They  were  probably  bound  to  wooden  handles  after 
the  manner  shown  in  Fig.  122.  ' 

*  Author's  collection. 

t  We  are  indebted  to  William  Watkins,  Esq.,  for  this  fine  specimen.     It  was 
found  on  his  farm,  near  Nashville. 


CHIPPED    STONE    fMPLT-MENTS. 


223 


Rough  iinplemcnts,  doubtless  used  with  handles  as  axes,  weap- 
ons, or  perhaps  as  hoes,  are  shown  in  Pigs.  123  and  124.  These 
varieties,  although  rude,  are  not  common. 


Fig.  122. — Probable  Method  of  Hafting  the  Adzes  and  Hoes. 


m\ 


iiii'ii 


\''4v 


Fig.  123. — Stone  Imtlkment,  Cumberland 

A'  A  LL  E  Y    (  O  N  E-  FO  U  RT  H  )  .* 


Fig.   124. — Stone   Implement, 
Dickson  Co.  (One-half).! 


We  have  selected  the  spoon  and  tool-shaped  flints  and  working 
implements,  rather  stiffly  and  inaccurately  illustrated  in  outline  in 
Fig.  125,  from  an  assortment  of  a  thousand  or  more  Middle  Tennes- 
see flints  and  ])oints  in  our  collection,  as  representative  specimens  of 
the  smaller  class  of  blunt  implements  and  working  tools  used  by  the 

*  Di-.  .J.  .Jones  collection, 
t  Author's  collection. 


224 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


meclianics  of  the  stone  age  in  this  section.  The  general  outhnes  of 
the  forms  of  these  pecuhar  flints  are  correct.  They  were  found  in 
the  counties  near  ISTashville.     The  variety  of  these  small   tools  or 


Fig.  125. — Flint  Tools  or  Implements,  from  Vicinity  of  Nashville  (One-fourth).* 

tool  flints  indicates  that  there  were  probably  separate  trades  or  in- 
dustries, requiring  the  use  of  many  different  kinds  of  implements. 
In  some  ot  the  modern  tribes,  there  were  specialists  in  the  difierent 


Fig.  126. — Scrapers,  Side  Views  (One-third).* 

industrial  pursuits.  We  are  told  that,  among  the  Hupa  Indians  of 
California,  the  arrow  smith  flaked  and  chipped  the  flint  and  obsid- 
ian arrow-heads,  and  that  a  clifterent  workman,  an  expert,  made  and 
trimmed  the  wooden  arrow  shafts  to  which  the  stone  points  were 
fastened. t 

Fig.  126  gives  side  views  and  a  somewhat  more  correct  idea  of 
some  of  the  "scrapers"  and  spoon-shaped  forms.  Most  of  them 
were  notched  or  prepared  for  handles,  and  doubtless  they  made  con- 
venient and  useful  implements. 

The  many  flint  flakes  and  curious  forms  found,  show  that  the 

"•••  Author's  collection. 

t  Smithsonian  Report,  1886,  Part  I,  page  COO. 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


225 


old  flint  workers  were  very  dextrous  in  chipping  rough  stones  into 
any  shapes  that  suited  their  convenience.  Fig.  127  represents  a 
chipped  stone  "implement,"  found  in  a  field  adjoining  the  Koel 
cemetery.     It  may  have  been  used  as  a  weight  or  plummet. 


Fig.  127. — Chipped  Weight  or  Plummet  (Two-ttiirds).* 

One  of  the  most  interesting  chipped  tools  or  implements  we 
have  seen  was  found  in  Montgomery  county,  near  the  Kentucky 
line.     It  is  illustrated  (actual  size)  in  Fig.  128. 


Fig.  128. — Chipped  Flint  Implement,  Montgomery  County.* 

This  pretty  little  rectangle  of  rich,  clear,  yellow  flint  or  jasper, 
is  as  thin  and  delicately  made  as  the  finest  arrow  point.  It  has 
been  carefully  chipped  and  beveled  to  an   exact  form,  with  similar 

*  Author's  collection, 

15 


226 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


flat,  sharp  edges  on  all  four  sides,  and  must  have  been  designed  for 
some  special  use.  It  is  one  of  the  flint  types  that  seems  to  indicate 
a  condition  of  society  and  of  the  industrial  arts  above  the  ordinary 
stone  hammer  and  spear  stage  of  barbarism.  A  side  view  or  section 
of  it  should  have  been  presented  to  show  its    symmetry  of  form. 


Fig.  129. — Chipped  Stone  Chisel,  Humphreys  County  (Two-tiiirds).* 

Much  smaller,  well-made,  square  flints,  called  "gambling  flints,"  and 
doubtless  used  for  that  purpose,  are  found  in  Kew  York.  We  have 
good  specimens  of  them. 


Fig.  130. — Chisel-shaped  Implements,  Davidson  County  (T^v^o-thirds).* 

The  stone  chisel  (Fig.  129)  is  chipped  to  a  sharp  edge,  with 
square  corners  at  the  blade  end,  and  would  have  done  good  service 
as  a  cutting  tool. 

The  chisel-shaped  flints  more  frequently  show  evidences  of  ase 

*  Author's  collection. 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


'A'H 


than  any  other  class  of  chip})ed  stone  implements.  They  are  found 
in  the  stone  graves  and  elsewhere  in  considerable  numbers,  and  of 
various  shapes  and  sizes,  usually  being  slightly  curved,  or  shaped 
like  a  flat  adze. 

Illustrations  of  this  class  are  presented  in  Fig.  130. 

Little  short  chisels  are  found  that  doubtless  had  handles  of 
wood  or  bone.  Others  are  long,  and  were  probably  used  without 
separate  handles.  Five  fine  specimens  of  yellow  and  gray  flint,  and 
as  sharp  as  an  ordinary  table-knife  at  the  blade  edges,  were 
recently  found  in  the  same  grave.     The  chisels,  or  the  implements 


Fig.  131. — Flint  Chisels,  Davidson  County  (Two-fifths).* 

of  that  form,  must  have  been  favorite  tools  in  the  old  work-shops, 
if  we  may  judge  from  the  numbers  found  in  the  ancient  burial 
grounds.  Three  "  chisels "  from  the  set  of  five,  are  shown  in 
Fig.  131. 

A  stone  cutting  knife,  with  a  well-ground  edge,  is  shown  in 
Fig.  132. 

It  must  have  been  a  serviceable  knife  in  its  day,  its  edge  being 
still  sharp  and  well  beveled.  It  was  doubtless  formerly  fastened  to 
a  handle  of  w^ood  or  horn. 

The  chipped  cutting-knife,  with  the  double  ground  edge  seven 
inches  long  (F'ig.   133),  was  recently  found  by  Mr.   Blunkall   in  a 


*  Author's  collection. 


228 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


grave  of  a  small  cemetery  a  few  miles  west  of  Nashville,  on  the 
Cumberland  river.  The  deer-horn  handle  was  discovered  in  the 
excavated  earth  a  few  feet  from  the  knife.  It  is  partly  decayed  at 
the  end,  but  from  the  oval  shape  of  the  deep  socket  in  the  horn,  it 


Fig.  132. — A  Flint  Cutting  Knife  (Two-thirds).* 

evidently  originally  held  the  knife  or  some  similar  implement.  The 
knife  end  of  the  horn  is  pierced  with  rivet  holes,  in  which,  perhaps, 
the  string  was  fastened  that  aided  in  binding  the  knife  to  it. 

A  similar  handle  was  found  by  Mr.  Blunkall  with  a  kit  of  flint 


Fig.  133. — Flint  Knife  and  Horn  Handle,  Davidson  County  (Two-thirds).! 

chisels  in  a  grave  of  the  same  cemetery.  These  are  the  only  ancient 
horn  handles  from  this  section  that  have  come  to  our  notice.  It 
seems  singular  that  they  are  not  more  frequently  found,  considering 
the   number  of  tool  handles  that  must  have  been  used.     Perhaps 


*  Johnson  collection. 
t  Author's  collection. 


1 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


229 


the  latter  were  chiefly  made  of  wood,  that  has  entirely  decayed  from 
lapse  of  time.  Ancient  chipped  flint  implements,  with  horn 
handles,  have  frequently  been  found  on  the  Pacific  slope  and  in 
Europe.  Many  of  them  were  preserved  from  decay  in  the  caves 
and  in  the  lakes  of  Switzerland.* 

The  implements  illustrated  in  Figs.  13-4  and  135  (author's  col- 
lection) were  probably  not  spears,  but,  judging  from  their  forms, 
were  intended  for  cutting-knives,  and  doubtless  had  short  handles 
suitable  for  that  purpose.     ISTo.   134,  as  will  be   observed,  is   a  fine 


Figs.  13-4  and  135. — Flint  Knives  (Two-thirds) 


piece  of  chipped  work.  The  small  flake  grooves  are  rounded  or 
arched  over  the  blade,  with  a  regularity  and  precision  that  appear 
very  remarkable. 

In  I^o.  135  the  end  of  the  flint,  formerly  hafted,  still  shows  the 
different  or  mottled  surface,  caused  by  the  glue  or  handle,  while  the 
rest  of  the  flint  is  bright  and  clean.  These  knives  were  found  in 
the  cemeteries  in  the  vicinity  of  Nashville,  the  larger  one  in  a  stone 
grave. 

Fig.    13(3   represents  two   small    implements   from    the    graves, 

*  Tn  exploring  the  houses  of  the  clitF  dwellers  of  Colorado,  Hint    knives    with 
wooden  handles  were  recentlv  foun<l. 


230 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


probably  knives.      The   larger  one   (Giers'  collection)   has  a  sharp 
blade. 

Most  of  the  large  flint  and   chert  implements  were  probably 


Fig.  136. — Flint  Knives  (Actual  Size). 

held  in  the  hands  without  separate  handles,  as  the  edges  of  the 
handle  ends  are  usually  not  sharp,  and  could  be  easi]y  rounded. 
The  handles  of  some  of  the  large  implements  were  also  probably 


Fig.  137. — -Flint  Implements  (Two-fifths).* 

covered  with  buckskin  or  cloth  for  convenient  handling,  as  was  the 
custom  of  some  of  the  California  Indians  in  using  the  large  imple- 
ments of  chert  and  obsidian. f 

■•■  .Johnson  and  author's  collections. 
t  Smithsonian  Rei)ort,  1886,  Part  I,  page  222. 
\ 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


231 


Fine  types  of  flint  implements,  doubtless  used  without  separate 
handles,  are  illustrated  in  Fig,  137.  They  are  from  the  cemeteries 
in  the  vicinity  of  ISTashville,  and  were,  doubtless,  useful  tools. 
They  might  have  been  employed  for  many  mechanical  purposes. 

A  handy  little  hatchet,  with  finely  polished  blade  and  sharp 
edge,  is  shown  in  Fig.  138.  It  was  found  by  the  author  in  a  grave 
of  the  Byser  farm  cemetery  on  White's  creek,  near  Xashville.  As 
both  sides  of  the  blade  have  the  same  bevel,  we  call  it  a  hatchet, 
or  axe,  or  skinning  implement,  instead  of  a  chisel  or  adze.  It  may 
have  been  mortised  into  a  wooden  socket  or  hafted  at  the  center. 


Fig.  138. — Stone  Hatchet,  White's  Creek,  near  Nashville  (Three-fifths).* 

Large  and  small  axes,  celts,  fleshers,  knives,  awls,  hoes,  and  other 
forms  of  chipped  flint  implements,  with  polished  or  ground  edo-es, 
are  quite  common  in  Tennessee.  Some  of  the  axe-shaped  forms  are 
very  large.  Specimens  a  foot  or  more  long,  and  weighing  five  or 
six  pounds,  are  occasionally  found.  One  of  the  finest  types  may  be 
seen  in  the  collection  of  the  Tennessee  Historical  Society. 

Among  the  best  examples  of  the  flaking  and  chipping  art 
found  in  Tennessee,  are  the  flints  of  the  type  represented  in  Fig. 
139.  No  finer  flint  forms  are  to  be  found  in  the  Mississippi  val- 
ley.   They  equal  the  remarkable  work  of  the  Aztec  obsidian  flakers. 


Author's  collection. 


232 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


This  specimen  is  of  fine  lustrous  gray  color,  and  shows  the  same 
flake  bed  or  groove  on  both  sides.  The  general  form  is  well  out- 
lined in  the  engraving,  but  not  the  finely  chipped  surface.  A  single 
long  flake  has  evidently  been  first  struck  from  each  side,  a  piece  of 
work  that  would  seem  to  be  next  to  impossible,  or  an  accident,  were 
it  not  for  the  number  of  flints  found  of  this  special  form,  and  with 


Fig.  139.— Flaked  Spear-head,  Maury  County  (Two-thirds).* 

similarly  flaked  or  grooved  sides.  The  edges  w^ere  doubtless  chipped 
after  the  flaking  operation,  and  these  delicate  and  symmetrical  little 
spears  and  arrows  thus  completed.  This  particular  form  is  a 
specialty  of  Maury  county,  and  is  well  represented  in  the  fine  col- 
lections of  Rev.  C.  F.  Williams  and  Captain  Smith,  of  the  Athenaeum 
at  Columbia  in  that  county. 

Fig.  140  illustrates   a  beautifully  chipped   dagger  of  compact 


Fig.  140. — Fmnt  Dagger,  Humphreys  County  (One-half).* 

cherty  flint  from  Humphreys  county,  Tennessee.  It  is  a  sym- 
metrical weapon  or  implement,  about  eight  inches  long,  with  "  a 
regulation  handle,"  and  a  flat,  tapering  blade,  beveled  to  fine  edges, 
and  delicately  serrated. 

The   finely  chipped   Danish   daggers,  illustrated   by  Sir  John 

*  Autlior's  collection. 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


233 


Lubbock,*  do  not  represent  so  well  the  dagger  form.  Although 
fashioned  like  some  of  our  modern  metal  daggers,  the  old  Ten- 
nessee flint  chippers  must  have  full  credit  both  for  the  invention 
and  workmanship  of  the  fine  specimen  illustrated.  It  is  so  frail 
and  brittle,  and  so  carefully  chipped,  that  it  was  probably  not  in- 
tended for  use  as  a  weapon,  but  was  carried  or  worn  as  a  "  cere- 
monial "  or  emblem  of  distinction  upon  public  occasions. 

Prof.  Putnam,  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  obtained  a  fine  speci- 
men of  the  same  form  near  ISTashville.     Another  one  of  about  the 


Fig.  141. — Flint  Dagger,  Marshall  County  (Actual  SizE).t 

same  length  and  shape  was  found  in  a  grave  mound  on  the 
Warrior  river,  in  Alabama,  and  is  now  in  the  l!^ational  Museum  at 
Washington.  J 

A  pretty  little  flint  of  the  dagger  form  (Fig.  141)  ofifers  an- 
other illustration  of  the  great  variety  of  unusual  types  found  in 
Tennessee.  Although  it  resembles  a  modern  dagger  in  form,  it 
would  be  mere  conjecture  to  assign  it  to  any  special  duty.  In  the 
journal  of  the  voyage  of  Cabrillo  to  the  California  coast,  a.  d.  1542, 


*  Prehistoric  Times,  page  101. 

t  Rev.  C.  F.  Williams  collection. 

X  Smithsonian  Colloftion  (Ran),  page  15. 


234 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


it  is  stated  that  the  natives  there  "  wore  their  hair  tied  up  in  long 
strings,  to  which  were  attached  small  daggers  of  flint,  hone,  and 
wood."  ^  This  little  flint  may  have  heen  used  like  the  California 
flints,  and  the  modern  little  metal  daggers  sometimes  seen,  as  an  orna- 
ment for  the  hair.  The  conceit  seems  to  have  been  an  ancient  one! 
Another  dagger  form  is  shown  in  Fig,  142.  This  unique  cere- 
monial was  recently  found  in  a  stone  grave  cemetery  on  the  Cum- 
berland river,  a  few  miles  west  of  IsTashville,  by  W.  W.  Dozier,  one 
of  our  "  explorers."  The  double  points  on  the  sides,  doubtless,  had 
some  signiflcance  in  the  system  of  tribal  or  family  symbols  or 
totems  of  the  native  race  that  once  inhabited  the  Cumberland 
valley. 


Fig.  142. — Flint  Dagger,  Davidson  County  (One-half).! 

Special  attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  the  dagger  and  cere- 
monial forms  of  this  class,  and  many  of  the  chipped  ceremonials 
used  for  similar  purposes,  are  nearly  all  from  seven  and  one-half  to 
eight  inches  long,  showing  that  they  were  probably  made  to  order 
of  this  length  by  the  old  flint  experts  in  accordance  with  some 
ancient  tribal  usage  or  law.  This  one  is  exactly  seven  and  one-half 
inches. 

The  first  dagger  illustrated  is  a  delicate,  thin,  flat  flint,  scarcely 
a  half  inch  thick  at  the  center.  As  will  be  observed  from  the 
sectional  view  of  this  flint,  it  is  re-enforced  by  a  ridge  running 
down  its  center,  nearly  three-fourths  of  an  inch  thick.  This  is  a 
characteristic  of  most  of  these  fine   ceremonials.     While   not  well 


*  Wheeler's  Survey,  A'ol.  VII,  page  21. 
t  Author's  collection. 


CHIPPED    STONE    IxMPLEMENTS. 


235 


adapted  to  practical  use  as  weapons,  and  showing-  few  marks  of 
service,  most  of  them  are  thicker  and  stronger  than  the  thin  blades 
of  the  long  spears  and  swords. 

A  ruder  implement  of  the   dagger  form,  seven   and   one-half 
inches  long,  was  found  in  Dickson  county,  Fig.  143.     It  appears  to 


Fig.    143. — Dagger  or  Spearhead,  Dickson  County  (Two-fifths)*. 

be  a  little  worn  at  the  point,  and  may  have  been  put  to  some  prac- 
tical use. 

Another  unusual  form  of  flint  dagger  was  found  on  the  Big 
Harpeth  river,  near  one  of  the  stone  grave  cemeteries  of  that  sec- 
tion (Fig.  144).  This  is  a  shorter  flint,  Avell  fitted  for  some  mechan- 
ical or  domestic  use,  and  may  not  have  been  intended  for  mere 
ceremonial  purposes. 


Fig.  144. — Flint  Implement,  fro.m  Big  Harpeth  River  (Two-thirdsj.T 

The  finely  chipped  spear  or  harpoon,  nearly  six  inches  long, 
with  double  barljs  (Fig.  145),  was  found  in  Stewart  county.  It 
may  have  been  used  as  a  fish -spear  or  lance-head,  or  perhaps  as  a 
"ceremonial."  A  much  more  effective  and  durable  spear  could 
have  been  made  in  less  time  from  a  sharpened  bone  or  from  a  shell. 

*  Author's  collection. 

T  Author's  collection.     Kindly  pi-esented  by  L.  H.  Freeman. 


236 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


The  smaller  barbed  spear  or  arrow  points  of  fine  flint  (Fig, 
146)  may  have  been  nsed  in  spearing  fish  or  for  some  special  pur- 
poses.    The  forms  are  rare. 

Among  the  most  interesting  "  implements  "  of  flint  and  chert 
found  in  Tennessee  are  the  long,  delicately  formed  knives  and 
lance-shaped  forms.  So  far  as  we  can  learned,  they  are  not  found 
in  other  sections  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  They  seem  to  be  a 
specialty  of  Middle  Tennessee. 

A  good  example  of  the  double  pointed  blade  form  may  be  seen 
photo-engraved  from  the  original,  in  Plate  XI.  It  is  twelve  inches 
long  and  of  graceful  outlines,  its  sides  being  as  straight  as  if  ground 
to  a  fine  edge.     We  have  a  similar  specimen  of  pure,  black  flint,  a 


Fig.  145. — Double-barbed  Speak  ok  Implement  (Two-thieds.)* 

half  inch  longer,  but  slightly  fractured.  Some  of  these  double- 
pointed  sword-blades  or  "  ceremonials  "  are  much  longer. 

Dr.  Joseph  Jones,  in  exploring  the  chief  burial  mound  of  the 
De  Graftenreid  works,  on  the  Big  Harpeth  river,  found  beside  the 
skeleton  of  the  principal  figure  of  the  group,  placed  in  a  sitting 
posture  in  the  center  of  the  mound,  the  magnificent  chipped  sword 
or  "  implement "  represented  in  Fig.  147.  It  lay  within  the  very 
bones  of  the  skeleton  hand,  as  if  placed  there  as  a  tribute  to  his 
rank,  or  as  a  badge  of  distinction  to  be  carried  into  the  "  spirit 
land,"  It  18  twenty-two  inches  long  and  but  about  two  inches 
wide. 

No  similar  implement  equaling  it  in  length,  and  in  delicacy  of 
form  and  finish,  has  probably  ever  been  discovered  in  any  part  of 


Johnson  collection. 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


237 


o 


pq 


*  Author's  collection. 
t  T)r.  J.  Jones  collection. 
-t  Johnson  collection. 
11  E.  D.  Hicks  collection. 


^H 


fe 


238  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

the  world.  It  was,  of  course,  useless  as  a  weapon,  and  too  fragile 
for  any  mechanical  service. 

We  can  not  but  admire  the  surprising  skill  of  the  old  flint  chip- 
pers,  who  could  successfully  execute  this  delicate  piece  of  work. 
The  flints  and  fine  cherts  are  so  brittle,  and  required  such  careful 
manipulation,  that  these  slender  forms  seem  to  represent  the  master- 
pieces of  the  stone  age.  The  ancient  experts,  however,  left  many 
examples  of  their  skill.  The  delicate  little  flint  needle,  eight 
inches  long  (Fig.  148),  required  the  same  care  and  skill  in  trans- 
forming it  from  a  rude  flake  into  its  present  symmetrical  form. 

Fig.  149  represents  another  of  the  sword  or  scepter-shaped 
objects,  fourteen  inches  long,  from  Humphreys  county,  evidently  an 
emblem  or  scepter  of  authority,  as  it  is  too  brittle  and  easily  broken 
for  practical  use  as  a  weapon.  The  notched  portion  may  have 
formed  the  handle,  or  the  six  small  raised  points  on  the  sides,  simi- 
lar to  one  of  the  daggers  illustrated,  may  have  indicated  the  rank  of 
its  ancient  owner.  Mr.  Otto  Giers,  of  ISTashville,  has  a  much  smaller 
flint  of  analogous  form,  with  four  small  points  on  the  sides.  The 
Rev.  C.  F.  Williams  has  a  beautifully  chipped,  double-pointed  chert 
spear  or  sword  blade,  sixteen  and  a  quarter  inches  long,  from 
Maury  county.  In  the  collection  of  the  Historical  Society,  the 
Johnson  collection,  and  at  the  Athenseum  in  Columbia,  there  are  a 
number  of  these  fine  long  flints. 

The  long  notched  spear,  photo-engraved  directly  from  the  orig- 
inal in  Plate  XIV,  is  in  the  collection  of  the  Tennessee  Historical 
Society.  It  is  seventeen  inches  long  and  three  and  a  half  inches 
wide  at  its  base.  It  was  found  in  Franklin  county,  Middle  Tennes- 
see, a  few  years  ago,  and  presented  to  the  society  by  T.  D.  Gregory, 
Esq.,  of  Winchester.  Tlie  photo-engraving  presents  very  clearly 
its  exact  form  and  surface.  Even  the  strings  by  which  the  writer 
tied  it  to  the  card-board  to  be  photographed  may  be  clearly  seen, 
and  give  assurance  of  the  truthfulness  of  the  reproduction. 

We  doubt  whether  a  barbed  or  notched  stone  spear-head,  its 
equal  in  length  and  symmetry  of  form,  has  been  discovered  in 
America,  or  even  among  the  remarkable  flint  remains  of  the  Scan- 


I 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS.  239 

dinavian  countries  of  Europe.  The  largest  Danish  flint  spear  or 
dagger  mentioned  h}'  Lubbock*  is  but  twelve  and  a  half  inches  in 
length.  The  longest  flint  spear  or  knife  of  any  kind  described  or 
illustrated  by  Squier  and  Davis  is  but  eleven  inches  long,  and 
Schoolcraft  does  not  mention  one  longer  than  seven  inches.  In  the 
elaborately  illustrated  arid  valuable  volume  of  Mr.  John  Evans  upon 
the  Ancient  Stone  Implements  of  Great  Britain,  we  observed  no 
specimens  even  ajDproximating  in  size  the  large  and  long  chipped 
stone  implements  of  Tennessee.  Dr.  Abbott  states  that  the  maxi- 
mum length  of  the  flint  and  jasper  spears  found  within  the  limits 
of  Xew  England  and  the  Korth  Atlantic  States  is  but  six  inches. f 

The  only  flints  in  America,  north  of  Mexico,  rivaling  these  fine 
Tennessee  implements,  have  been  discovered  in  the  ancient  graves 
of  the  California  Indians,  and  are  well  described  and  illustrated  by 
Prof.  E.  W.  Putnam  and  Dr.  C.  C.  Abbott  in  Wheeler's  Survey, 
Vol.  YII.  The  largest  one  illustrated  is  but  nine  and  three-quarters 
inches  long.  Dr.  Abbott,  however,  reports  the  discovery  of  a  flint 
implement  fifteen  inches  in  length,  in  Oregon. 

As  further  evidence  that  these  large  chipped  implements  of  the. 
Stone  Grave  race  are  unequaled,  even  in  other  southern  states, 
Colonel  C.  C.  Jones,  of  Georgia,  one  of  the  most  reliable  authorities 
upon  this  subject  in  the  South,  states  :  "  The  largest  spear  or  lance- 
head  w^e  have  seen  within  the  geographical  limits  of  Georgia  was 
obtained  from  a  grave  mound  which  stood  upon  the  point  of  land 
formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  Etowah  and  Oostenaula  rivers.  It 
is  nearly  fourteen  inches  in  length  and  three  and  one-fourth  inches 
in  width,  weighing  two  pounds  and  two  ounces  avoirdupois.  It  is 
perfect,  with  the  exception  of  the  point,  which  was  broken  off  at 
the  time  this  implement  was  taken  from  the  mound.  No  spear-head 
of  such  magnitude,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  has  been  found 
within  the  limits  of  the  southern  states."  X 

*  Prehistoric  Times,  page  100. 

t  Primitive  Industry,  page  250. 

t  Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians,  page  25.3. 


240  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

From  the  engraving  of  this  large  spear-head  in  Colonel  Jones's 
work,  it  appears  to  be  a  roughly  chipped  implement,  much  inferior 
in  workmanship  to  the  fine  chipped  flints  and  chert  specimens  of 
the  Stone  Grave  race.  It  is  more  than  three  inches  shorter  than 
the  symmetrical  spear-head  of  the  Tennessee  Historical  Society,  and 
would  attract  little  attention  if  placed  beside  the  finer  and  larger 
flint  implements  of  the  Cumberland  valley. 

The  long  Franklin  county  flint  (Plate  XIV)  does  not  appear  to 
be  fitted  for  actual  use  as  a  spear  or  weapon  of  war.  It  is  too  long 
and  too  easily  fractured,  and  the  labor  required  to  make  it  too  great 
to  justify  the  belief  that  it  was  intended  for  that  purpose.  It  was 
evidently  designed  as  a  halberd  or  weapon  of  parade,  for  some  cere- 
monial occasion.  It  may  have  crowned  the  staff"  of  a  tribal  or  fam- 
ily banner,  or  it  may  have  been  carried  as  a  sword  or  an  emblem  of 
authority. 

The  three  magnificent  chipped  stone  "  implements,"  with  orna- 
mental handles,  well  photo-engraved  in  Plate  XIY,  we  will  take  the 
liberty  of  designating-scepters.  To  the  writer's  mind,  they  offer 
direct  and  very  positive  evidence  that  these  large  stone  objects  were 
used  for  ceremonial  purposes  of  a  religious,  military,  or  public  char- 
acter. They  were. found  in  a  cache  together,  in  Humphreys  county. 
Middle  Tennessee,  and  presented  to  Edward  D.  Hicks,  Esq.,  of 
Davidson  county,  and  are  now  in  his  fine  collection.  They  are  re- 
spectively twenty,  seventeen  and  one-fourth,  and  sixteen  and  one- 
half  inches  in  length,  and  are  composed  of  chert  or  compact  silicious 
limestone.  The  symmetry  and  beauty  of  the  handles,  the  exact 
projections  on  opposite  sides,  the  tapering  forms,  and  the  evidently 
important  place  these  rare  objects  must  have  held  in  the  religious 
and  social  life  of  the  old  Tennesseeans,  all  invest  them  with  peculiar 
interest. 

Here  we  have,  in  all  probability,  the  scepters  or  royal  maces 
once  used  by  the  magnates  of  the  race  that  built  the  ancient 
mounds  and  fortifications  of  Middle  Tennessee.  They  may  have 
been  the  insignia  of  chieftainship  or  of  the  priesthood.  The  most 
distinguished  personage  of  the  Stone  Grave  race  3^et  identified,  if 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS.  241 

we  may  judge  by  the  surroundings  and  character  of  his  burial,  the 
honored  chieftain  or  priest  whose  remains  were  unearthed  on  the 
banks  of  the  Harpeth  river  by  Dr.  Jones,  was  phxced  in  his  rude 
sarcophagus  with  a  long  flint  sword  or  scepter  in  his  right  hand, 
showing  very  conclusively  the  use  of  these  large  implements. 

If  the  reader  will  turn  to  the  subsequent  chapter  upon  shell  re- 
mains, it  will  be  seen  that  the  "  fighting  figure,'*  well  engraved  upon 
a  large  gorget,  grasps  in  his  right  hand  a  double-pointed  sword  blade 
or  knife  of  almost  the  exact  form  of  some  of  these  larsre  flints. 
The  double-pointed  implement  photo- engraved  in  Plate  XI  is 
nearly  its  duplicate  in  shape  and  size,  oft'ering  additional  evidence 
of  the  genuineness  of  both  the  ancient  gorget  and  the  fine  flint. 
The  old  chief  or  mythological  hero  engraved  upon  the  shell  evi- 
dently belonged  to  the  Stone  Grave  race.*  Their  remains  are  found 
in  the  valleys  of  East  Tennessee  and  in  Northern  Georgia,  in  the 
mounds  m  which  the  gorgets  have  been  discovered. 

La  Vega  tells  us  that  the  large  wooden  statues  guarding  the 
gates  of  the  rude  temple  discovered  by  De  Soto  on  the  banks  of  the 
Savannah  river,  at  Tolomeco,  were  armed  "  with  clubs,  maces,  and 
copper  hatchets;"  also,  that  some  of  them  were  armed  with  long 
pikes  ;t  thus  indicating  that  the  southern  Indians,  within  the  histo- 
ric period,  were  acquainted  with  the  uses  of  such  objects,  as  insignia 
of  authority. 

Upon  public  or  state  occasions,  the  historic  tribes  paid  consid- 
erable attention  to  forms  and  ceremonies.  The  tattoo  marks,  the 
number  of  feather  plumes,  the  battle-ax  or  war  club,  the  engraved 
breast-plates,  the  upholding  of  the  pipe  of  peace,  were  insignia  or 
symbols  of  rank  and  authority  used  and  respected  by  them.  We 
learn,  also,  that  chipped  implements  of  chert,  jasper,  and  obsidian 
were  used  by  the  Indians  of  California  upon  public  and  ceremonial 
occasions. 

*  Plate  XVI. 

t  History  of  Alabama  (Pickett),  Vol.  I,  page  {)6;  Garoillaso  de  la  Vega,  pages 

274,  282. 

16 


242  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

"Writing  of  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  Hupa  Indians,  form- 
erly one  of  the  finest  tribes  of  Northern  California,  Mr.  Otis  T. 
Mason,  of  the  National  Museum,  states,  "  that  among  the  articles 
paraded  or  worn  in  the  ceremonial  dance,  is  a  flake  or  knife  of  ob- 
sidian or  jasper,  some  of  which  are  fifteen  inches  or  more  in  length, 
and  about  two  and  a  half  inches  wide  in  the  widest  part.  These  are 
wrapped  in  skin  or  cloth,  to  prevent  the  rough  edges  from  lacerat- 
ing the  hand,  but  the  smaller  ones  are  mounted  on  wooden  handles 
and  glued  fast.  The  large  ones  can  not  be  purchased  at  any  price, 
but  Mr.  Powers  procured  some  about  six  inches  long  at  $2.50 
apiece.  These  are  not  properly  knives,  but  jewelry  for  sacred  pur- 
poseSj  passing  current  also  as  money."* 

Upon  examining  the  photographic  plates  illustrating  the  long 
ceremonial  flints  from  the  graves  in  California  (Wheeler's  Survey, 
Vol.  VII),  we  find  them  to  be  of  the  same  general  character  and 
form  as  the  simpler  types  of  the  long  "ceremonials  "  found  in  the 
stone  graves  in  the  Cumberland  valley.  They  are  the  only  flints  yet 
discovered,  so  far  as  we  can  learn,  that  seem  to  bear  a  close  resem- 
blance to  some  of  the  Tennessee  types.  They  suggest  the  possibility 
of  some  ancient  kinship  or  association  between  the  tribes  of  the 
Far  West  and  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  Any 
old  collector  can  distinguish  these  California  and  Tennessee  flints, 
so  nearly  alike,  from  the  long  flint  swords  and  "  daggers  "  of  the 
Scandinavian  races,  and  even  from  the  longest  flint  types  of  the 
north-eastern  Indians. 

The  longest  California  specimen  illustrated  is  nine  and  three- 
fourths  inches  in  length,  and  is  almost  a  duplicate  in  form  of  the 
long  sword  or  ceremonial  flint  photo-engraved  in  Plate  XI  (au- 
thor's collection). 

The  California  flint  is  represented  in  Fig.  150,  one-half  actual 
size.  The  Tennessee  flint,  twelve  inches  long,  is  reduced  in  the 
plate  in  the  same  proportion. 

*  Smithsonian  Report,  1886,  Part  I,  page   222;   Powers's  Tribes  of  California, 
Contributions  to  American  Ethnology,  Vol.  Ill,  page  79. 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


243 


In  describing  the  weapons  of  war  of  the  Yurok  Indians  of  Cali- 
fornia, Mr.  Powers  (p.  52)  states  that  they  formerly  used  large  jas- 
per and  obsidian  knives,  but  "  which  nowadays  are  kept  only  as 
ornaments  or  objects  of  wealth,  to  be  produced  on  occasions  of  a 
great  dance."  From  recent  explorations  in  the  canons  of  Colorado, 
we  learn  that  the  cliff  dwellers  used  long  chipped  flint  knives,  with 
flat  blades,  but  their  forms  and  dimensions  are  not  specially  stated. 

Very  beautiful  long  spears  of  obsidian  and  chalcedony  have 
been  found  in  Mexico  that  were  evidently  used  in  ancient  times  for 
ornamental  or  ceremonial  purposes.  There  were  several  in  the 
Christy  collection,  as  delicately  wrought  as  a  modern  onyx  or  agate 
paper  cutter,  and  of  as  little  use  as  a  weapon.* 


Fig.  150. — Ceremoni.\l  Flint,  California  (One-iialp). 


Still  more  remarkable  than  the  flne  "  scepters  "  of  the  Hicks 
collection,  photo-engraved  in  Plate  XIV,  is  the  scepter  of  gray 
flint  of  the  same  general  form,  but  of  somewhat  finer  texture  and 
workmanship,  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  W.  D.  Buchanan  at  Nash- 
ville (Fig.  151).  This  splendid  piece  of  ancient  art  in  stone  is 
thirteen  and  one-fourth  inches  long,  and  fully  five  inches  wide  be- 
tween the  hilt  points.  It  will  be  observed  that  it  is  wider  at  the 
hilt  and  shorter  in  the  blade  than  the  long  scepters  of  the  Hicks 
collection.  It  is  also  somewhat  more  artistically  executed,  being 
but  a  half  inch  thick  at  the  center  of  the  handle.  Near  the  end  of 
the  blunt  blade  it  is  thicker  than  at  any  other  point,  showing  that 
it  was  not  intended  for  cutting  or  for  practical  use  as  a  weapon,  but 
that  it  was  probably  used  as  a  halberd  or  mace.  We  have  never 
seen  a  specimen  of  aboriginal  art  from  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi 
superior  to  this  fine  flint  excepting  perhaps  some  of  the  engraved 

*  Prehistoric  Mau  (Wilson),  Vol.  I,  page  193. 


244 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


shell  gorgets.  It  was  found  in  Sumner  county,  about  twenty  miles 
north  of  Nashville,  on  the  old  Talley  farm,  adjoining  the  Rutherford- 
Kiser  farm,  upon  which  the  ancient  fortifications  and  settlement 
heretofore  described  were  located.  It  is  evidently  a  relic  of  the  in- 
teresting race  that  peopled  these  earth-works.     Although  perfect 


Fig,  151. — Ceremonial  Implement  or  Scepter,  Sumner  County  (One-fourth).* 

when  discovered,  it  has  unfortunately  been  broken  in  two  places, 
as  shown  in  the  engraving.  The  latter  was  made  from  an  exact 
outline  drawing,  but  does  not  show  the  natural  chipped  surface  of 
the  stone. 

Fig.  152  represents  another  chipped  flint  of  singular  form,  seven 
and  a  half  inches  long  and  two  and  one-fourth   inches  at  the  wide 


Fig.  152. — Ceremonial  Flint  (One-halfj.T 

end.  It  is  unique — no  similar  object  having  been  discovered,  so  far 
as  we  can  learn — but  shows  traces  of  similarity  to  the  form  of  the 
Buchanan  scepter.  It  is  evidently  a  ceremonial,  perhaps  a  small 
mace,  as  it  is  blunt  at  both  ends,  and  has  no  cutting  point  or  edge. 


*  W.  D.  Buchanan  collection, 
t  Johnson  collection. 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


245 


It  may  have  been  used  like  the  smaller  ceremonials  of  the  California 
Indians,  "  mounted  on  wooden  handles,  and  glued  fast."  Its  length, 
seven  and  one-half  inches,  corresponding  with  the  length  of  many 
of  the  dagger  ceremonials,  was  evidently  the  regulation  measure  of 
these  ancient  implements.  We  have  a  number  of  delicate  spear- 
head forms  of  this  length,  that  were  probably  used  for  the  same 
purpose. 

Among  the  most  interesting  objects  yet  discovered  in  Tennes- 
see, probably  belonging  to  the  ceremonial  or  totem  class,  are  the 


Fig.  153. — Chipped  Stone  "Hooks,"  Stewart  County  (One-third).* 

chipped  flint  and  chert  "  hooks  "  or  "  sickles."  One  of  the  most 
beautifully  executed  specimens  is  photo-engraved  from  the  original 
(one-half  actual  size)  in  Plate  XI.  It  is  seven  and  one-half  inches 
long.  Two  others,  of  nearly  the  same  length  (six  and  one-fourth 
and  six  and  three-fourths  inches),  from  Stewart  county,  are  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  153.  Two  shorter  and  broader  types,  from  the  adjoin- 
ing county  of  Humphreys,  are  represented  in  Fig.  154.  We  can 
only  conjecture  the  uses  to  which  these  rare  implements  were  ap- 
plied. We  classify  them  under  the  general  title  of  "  implements," 
for  want  of  more  definite   knowledge  of  them.     Some  of  them  be- 

■•■■  Johnson  collection. 


246 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


ing  of  rather  rude  workmanship,  when  they  first  came  to  our 
notice,  we  supposed  they  might  have  been  designed  for  some  me- 
chanical purpose,  but  we  now  regard  them  as  totems  or  ceremonial 
objects.  The  specimens  engraved  are  beveled  to  a  fine  edge  and 
sharp  point  at  the  end,  like  the  knives  and  spears.  Some  of  them 
were  probably  held  in  the  hand.  The  short  ones  may  have  been 
attached  to  wooden  handles  or  stafis,  the  notches  on  the  sides  being 
used  in  hafting  them.  The  only  piece  of  wood  we  have  discovered 
in  the  JSToel  cemetery  (in  a  grave)  is  a  small  sickle-shaped  object  or 


Fig.  154. — Chipfed  Stone  "Hooks,"  Humphreys  County  (One-third).* 

ornament,  in  the  form  of  one  of  these  "  hooks."  One  side  of  it  was 
plated  or  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of  copper,  and  thus  pre- 
served. 

Since  the  discovery  of  the  chipped  stone  "  hooks,"  in  the  adjoin- 
ing counties  of  Stewart  and  Humphreys,  the  still  more  remarkable 
double  hook  or  claw  (Fig.  155),  of  compact  flinty  chert,  has  been  dis- 
covered in  Humphreys  county,  which,  we  think,  throws  considerable 
light  upon  the  single  '•  hooks,"  and  fairly  well  proves  that  the  lat- 
ter were  totems,  and  were  not  used  for  any  mechanical  purpose. 
This  unique  specimen  is  twelve  inches  long  and  four  and  one-half 
inches  wide  at  the  center.     It  is  chipped  to  a  well-beveled  edge  all 


*  Author's  collection. 


CHIPPED    STONE   IMPLEMENTS. 


247 


around,  and  is  beautifully  serrated  on  the  inside  of  the  claw,  in 
imitation,  we  presume,  of  the  natural  claw  of  the  craw-tish,  after 
which  it  seems  to  have  been  modeled.  Its  striking  likeness  to  the 
natural  claw,  and  its  symmetric  form,  show  the  wonderful  skill  of 
the  old  stone  chippers. 

In  the  Indian  tribal  organizations,  which  seem  to  have  been 
very  similar  throughout  ancient  North  America,  the  tribes  were 
subdivided  into  groups  of  families  or  gentes.  Two  or  more 
gentes  formed  the  phratry  or  next  larger  division ;  the  phratries 
formed  the  tribe.  Each  gens  was  usually  named  after  some  favor- 
ite animal   or  object,  the  latter  thus  becoming  its  badge  or  emblem 


Fig.  155 — .Chipped  Stone  Claw,  Humphreys  County  (One-third).* 

of  distinction,  or  totem.  The  wolf,  the  turtle,  the  serpent,  and  the 
eagle  were  among  the  most  familiar  totems.  The  eagle  was  the 
totem  of  the  ancient  Mexicans,  and  is  still  emblazoned  on  the  na- 
tional banner  of  Mexico. 

The  leading  members  of  the  gens  or  groups  of  families  named 
after  the  turtle,  for  instance,  would  take  their  names  from  the 
turtle,  as  Big  Turtle,  Little  Turtle,  Snapping  Turtle,  and  Mud 
Turtle.  The  family  emblem  thus  became  an  important  feature 
in  its  religion.^  and  social  life.  Pipes  were  carved  in  imitation  of 
it.  It  was  doubtless  engraved  upon  the  family  gorgets  of  shell. 
It  was  the  distinctive  mark  by  which  the  family  was  known,  and 
was  looked  upon  with  veneration,  sometimes  amounting  to  animal 

*  Hicks  collection. 


248  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

or  nature  worship.  In  examining  the  organizations  of  some^of  tlie 
southern  tribes  of  Indians,  we  lind  that  the  Creeks  had  twenty-two 
gentes,  each  represented  by  an  emblem  or  totem  ;  the  Chickasaws 
had  twelve  gentes  and  two  phratries  ;  the  Cherokees  had  ten  gentes ; 
the  Shawnees,  thirteen  ;  and  the  Choctaws,  eight.  All  had  totems 
or  family  names.  The  village  Indians  of  the  pueblos  were  also 
divided  Into  gentes,  named  after  the  deer,  bear,  rattle-snake,  and 
other  objects,  animate  and  inanimate. 

We  find  the  Choctaws,  one  of  the  leading  southern  tribes,  re- 
siding at  an  early  period  in  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  were  divided 
into  eight  gentes,  and  that  one  of  them  took  its  name  from  the 
craw-fish,  which  thus  became  its  totem  or  family  symbol.*  Many  of 
the  ancient  remains  of  pottery,  stone,  and  shell  found  in  Middle 
Tennessee,  and  in  the  old  Choctaw  country,  are  very  similar.  It 
therefore  appears  probable  tliat  this  humble  little  fish-animal,  found 
every-where  in  our  southern  rivers,  was  adopted  as  a  totem  in  pre- 
historic times,  and  may  have  given  its  Indian  name  and  claio  form 
to  the  ancient  chert  totem  of  the  craw-jish  clan  recently  discovered 
in  Humphreys  county.  No  other  satisfactory  explanation  as  to  the 
use  of  this  interesting  object  having  been  suggested,  we  ofier  this 
view  as  afibrding  a  very  reasonable  solution  of  the  problem. 

A  friend,  who  has  always  insisted  that  the  mound  builders 
were  a  very  advanced  race,  on  seeing  this  fine  specimen  on  my  desk, 
exclaimed :  "  There,  now,  I  told  you  they  were  civilized ;  you  see 
they  had  boot-jacks!"  But  holding  the  theory,  as  we  do,  that  the 
aborigines  belonged  to  the  moccasin  family,  and  not  to  a  superior 
race,  we  can  not  accept  the  boot-jack  hypothesis,  though  thus  plausi- 
bly presented. 

The  single  claws  or  hooks,  and  the  double  claw,  having  been 
found  in  the  same  or  adjoining  counties,  were  probably  totems  of 
the  same  gens  or  clan  that  may  have  occupied  that  immediate  sec- 
tion at  some  period  in  the  past.     The  double  claw  could  have  been 

*  Ancient  Society  (Lewis  H.  Morgan),  page  162.  Dr.  Cyrus  Byington,  a  mis- 
sionary of  high  character,  resided  among  the  Choctaws  as  early  as  1820,  and  gave 
to  Mr.  Morgan  the  names  of  the  old  gentes  or  totems  of  that  tribe. 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS.  249 

conveniently  held  in  the  hand  as  a  scepter,  or,  like  an  eagle  upon 
a  flag-staff',  it  might  have  adorned  the  ancient  banner  of  the  craw- 
fish family  upon  state  occasions.  We  have,  however,  more  direct 
evidence  that  the  craa'-Jish  was  a  family  totem,  in  the  handsome  lit- 
tle perforated  pendant,  fashioned  somewhat  in  the  form  of  a  claw 
or  cray-fish  (Fig.  156).  The  fact  that  it  was  found  in  Stewart 
county  (Middle  Tennessee),  the  locality  of  the  discovery  of  some  of 
the  hooks,  also  strengthens  the  testimony  offered  by  its  form. 

There  is  no  mistaking  the  use  of  this  little  pendant.  It  was 
doubtless  once  worn  upon  the  neck  or  breast  of  some  member  of  the 
ancient  cray-fish  or  craw-fish  family. 


Fig.  156. — Craw-fish  Totem,  Stewart  County  (Actual  Size).* 

The  material  of  which  this  polished  totem  is  composed,  is  a 
compact  encrinital  red  limestone,  full  of  pretty  white  fossils.  The 
incised  markings  or  symbols  upon  it  had  no  doubt  some  special 
significance  in  their  day.  They  might  tell  an  interesting  story  if 
we  could  interpret  them.f 

The  turtle,  the  familiar  totem  among  several  Indian  tribes,  has 
also  been  found  in  flint  or  chert.  A  rather  rudely  chipped  exam- 
ple from  Smith  county.  Middle  Tennessee,  is  shown  in  Fig.  157. 

Although  a  rough  specimen,  as  compared  with  the  spirited  lit- 
tle terra  cotta  turtle  from  the  Noel  cemetery,  there  is  no  mistakino- 
its  identity.     The  turtle  was  evidently  one  of  the  family  totems  of 

*  Johnson  collection. 

t  The  claw  flints  and  the  little  claw  totem  all  came  separately  into  the  writer's 
hands  for  examination,  and  the  suggestions  as  to  their  use  are  presented  without 
even  the  knowledge  of  the  owners  oi  the  specimens. 


250 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


the  Stone  Grave  race.*  The  fish  was  another  most  common  totem 
among  the  southern  tribes,  which  may  account  for  the  large  number 
of  fish  forms  found  in  the  pottery  of  the  graves. 


Fig.  157. — Chipped  Stone  Turtle,  Smith  County  (One-half). t 
To  the   Hst  of  rare   and  unique  flints  peculiar  to  this  section. 


Fig.  158. — Chipped  Flint  Disc,  Stewart  County  (One-fourth).! 

must  be  added  the  large  flint  disk  found  in  Stewart  county,  Middle 
Tennessee,  and  illustrated  in  Fig.  158. 

*  In  Cooper's  entertaining  novel,  "The  Last  of  the  Mohicans,"  when  Uncas,  the 
Indian  chief,  was  about  to  be  put  to  death,  he  showed  the  figure  of  the  tortoise,  the 
emblem  of  the  Delawares,  tattooed  upon  his  breast,  and  this  emblem  saved  his  life. 
The  Delawares  are  called  "the  Children  of  the  Turtle." — Chapter  XXX. 

t  Author's  collection. 

±  Hicks  collection. 


CHIPPED    STONE    IMPLEMENTS.  251 

This  remarkable  specimen  of  lustrous  black  flint,  is  nine  inches 
in  diameter,  only  an  inch  and  a  quarter  thick  at  tlie  center,  and 
tapers  regularly  from  the  center  to  its  sharp  rim  or  perimeter,  like 
an  ax  blade,  forming  a  beautiful  and  symmetrical  disc.  ISTo  explana- 
tion has  been  suggested  as  to  its  probable  use.  A  smaller  and  rude 
specimen,  somewhat  similar  in  form,  has  also  been  found  (Johnson 
collection). 

It  seems  singular  that  the  long,  chipped  scepters,  the  single  and 
double  claw  totems,  the  disc,  and  many  other  fine  flint  and  chert  im- 
plements, have  been  discovered  in  two  of  the  least  fertile  counties 
of  the  mineral  belt  on  the  western  border  of  Middle  Tennessee — 
Stewart  and  Humphreys.  The  Cumberland  river,  however,  flows 
through  Stewart,  and  Duck  and  Buft'alo  rivers  through  Humphreys, 
and  in  their  rich,  though  sometimes  narrow  valleys,  are  to  be  found 
the  remains  of  many  settlements  of  the  Stone  Grave  race.  The 
material  of  which  these  fine  implements  were  made  also  abounded 
in  these  counties.  Doubtless  other  tribes,  in  different  stages  of  de- 
velopment,  have  lived  in  the  valleys  of  Tennessee  and  Southern 
Kentucky  in  past  ages.  They  may  have  erected  some  of  its  ancient 
monuments,  but  it  is  manifest  that  the  remains  of  the  most  ad- 
vanced arts  and  industries  found  in  Tennessee  must  be  attributed 
to  the  industrious  and  progressive  tribes  that  built  the  stone  graves 
and  erected  the  adjacent  earth-works.  They  were  the  skillful  flint 
and  chert  chippers,  and  the  expert  pottery  makers,  and  shell  en- 
gravers of  ancient  Tennessee. 

We  regret  to  close  this  chapter  without  further  illustrations 
and  descriptions  of  typical  flints,  especially  of  the  varieties  used  in 
the  mechanical  industries,  but  the  preparation  of  the  engravings 
already  presented  has  been  a  laborious  task,  fully  one-third  of  them 
having  been  inserted  in  the  manuscript  since  the  chapter  was  orig- 
inally wi'itten. 

Collectors  and  archaeologists  of  experience,  however,  who  look 
with  genuine  interest  upon  new  and  rare  types,  we  are  satisfied,  will 
at  once  recognize  the  rarity  and  unique  character  of  many  of  the 
fine   specimens   engraved,  especially  of  the   mechanical    and   cere- 


252  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

monial  classes.  They  will  probably  agree  with  the  writer  in  the 
opinion  that  in  excellence  of  workmanship,  and  in  beauty  and 
variety  of  forms,  they  surpass  the  remains  of  art  in  chipped  stone 
work  of  any  other  section  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  We  know  of 
no  antiques  equaling  them  north  of  the  stone  and  obsidian  knives  and 
flakes  of  the  ancient  Mexicans.  These  fine  forms  of  the  Cumber- 
land and  Tennessee  valleys  do  not  occur  in  the  ancient  territory 
of  the  Iroquois  of  the  north,  or  of  the  Indians  of  Virginia,  or  of  the 
north  Atlantic  coast,  or  in  Canada.  They  seem  to  represent  a  state 
of  society  of  a  higher  type  than  that  of  the  Iroquois  or  Algonkin 
tribes,  more  advanced,  indeed,  than  the  probable  status  of  the  an- 
cient Shawnees,  the  most  advanced  of  the  Algonkin  tribes,  and 
above  the  culture  of  the  tribes  east  of  the  pueblos,  at  the  period 
of  early  European  settlement. 

In  1837,  a  noted  Indian  chief  of  ISTorthern  Michigan,  presented 
Henry  R.  Schoolcraft,  the  historian  and  archaeologist,  an  "  antique 
javelin  "  or  spear-head  of  chert,  of  the  ordinary  form,  seven  inches 
long,  with  the  remark  that  it  "  was  one  of  the  old  implements 
of  his  ancestors."*  Such  specimens  appear  to  represent  the  high- 
est art  in  chipped  stone  work  of  the  northern  tribes. 

Doubtless  the  more  advanced  tribes  of  sedentary  southern  In- 
dians, whose  large  fortified  villages,  and  whose  manner  of  life,  are 
described  by  the  journalists  of  De  Soto,  and  other  early  discoverers, 
must  have  been  sufiiciently  devoted  to  agriculture,  and  horticulture, 
and  to  mechanical  pursuits,  to  have  required  a  greater  variety  of 
convenient  stone  implements.  De  Soto  did  not  invade  the  territory 
of  the  Stone  Grave  race  of  Tennessee,  but  from  the  evidences  of 
comparatively  modern  occupation  it  is  not  improbable  that,  at  the 
period  of  his  campaign,  some  of  these  old  flint  chippers  and  pot- 
tery makers  of  the  village  class  of  Indians  were  still  residing 
within  the  fortified  camps  and  stone  grave  settlements  of  the  val- 
ley of  the  Cumberland. 

*  Schoolcraft,  Vol.  I,  page  87. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS.  253 


SMOOTH  STONE  IMPLEMENTS. 

Grooved  Axes — Celts — Adzes — Tool  Handles — Chisels — Cutting  Implements— Discs 
— Spinning  "Whorls— The  Art  of  AVeaving— Paint  Cups— Mortars  and  Pestles — 
Tubes — Whistles  of  Stone  and  Bone — Funnels — Rings  and  Ornaments — Tal)le 
— Cones — Perforated  Tablets  —  Ceremonial  Objects — Banner  Stones  —  Spade- 
shaped  Implements — Crescent  Forms. 

The  ground  or  polished  implements,  ornaments  and  tools  of  the 
stone  age  in  Tennessee,  are  not  so  numerous  as  the  objects  of 
chipped  stone.  Suitable  materials  for  the  former  were  not  so 
abundant,  especially  in  the  limestone  basin  of  the  middle  district, 
where  the  largest  towns  and  settlements  of  the  Stone  Grave  race 
were  probably  located ;  neither  were  the  polished  implements  so 
easily  made. 

Ignorance  of  the  uses  of  iron,  and  the  scarcity  of  the  malleable 
ores  of  copper,  however,  rendered  it  necessary  that  the  industrious 
inhabitants  of  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  valleys  should  be 
well  supplied  with  implements  of  stone  of  the  various  types;  and 
many  specimens  of  the  smooth  or  polished  classes,  both  of  the  or- 
dinary forms,  and  of  the  rare  and  beautiful  varieties,  are  to  l)e  found 
among  the  collections  in  Tennessee. 

Grooved  axes,  hammers,  celts,  ileshers,  chisels,  knives,  cere- 
monial implements,  adzes,  tubes,  discs,  stone  rings,  paint  cups, 
mullers,  beads,  pendants,  gorgets,  amulets,  and  many  other  un- 
named "  relics  "  are  well  represented 

Nearly  all  of  the  materials  for  the  line  specimens  found  in  the 
limestone  basin  of  Middle  Tennessee,  and  in  the  western  district, 
must  have  been  transported  from  the  extreme  eastern  borders  of  the 
state,  or  from  other  distant  points  in  West  Virginia,  North   Caro- 


254  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

lina,  or  Alabama,  a  fact  that  attests  the  thrift  and  industry  of  the 
Stone  Grave  tribes  in  exchanging  and  bartering  commodities.* 

Many  of  the  types  of  polished  stone  are  similar  to  the  speci- 
mens found  in  other  mound  sections,  and  show  that  relations  more 
or  less  intimate  must  have  existed  during  the  prehistoric  period  be- 
tween the  various  tribes  of  the  Mississippi  valley ;  but  some  of  the 
Tennessee  types  seem  to  have  belonged  exclusively  to  the  Stone 
Grave  tribes,  or  other  tribes  that  once  inhabited  the  central  and 
eastern  valleys  of  the  state.  Several  of  the  remarkable  bird  and 
boat-shaped  forms  of  stone,  and  some  of  the  beautiful  objects  of 
striped  slate  found  in  the  North,  are  rare  or  unknown ;  the  fine 
types  of  jasper  found  in  Mississippi  are  also  rare,  but,  as  a  rule,  the 
Tennessee  specimens  of  polished  stone,  especially  the  symmetric 
discs,  rings,  tubes,  and  ceremonial  implements,  are  of  very  great 
interest,  and  probably  exceed  in  numbers,  beauty,  and  variety,  the 
objects  of  the  same  class  to  be  found  in  any  one  of  the  adjacent 
states. 

We  shall  not  devote  much  space  or  attention  to  the  ordinary 
forms  of  polished  stone  "  relics,"  common  to  this  and  other  sections, 
and  usually  found  among  the  remains  of  neolithic  man,  as  our  main 
purpose  is  to  present  characteristic  types,  especially  of  the  higher 
class,  and  specimens  when  practicable,  illustrating  the  ancient  arts 
and  industries,  that  students  interested  in  the  subject  may  be  able 
to  compare  them  with  the  antiquities  of  other  sections,  and  may 
acquire  more  definite  information  as  to  the  state  of  ancient  society 
represented  by  them. 

Typical  examples  of  the  grooved  stone  axes  found  in  Tennessee 
and  the  states  adjacent  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  159.  They  are  usually 
made  of  greenstone,  diorite,  or  other  hard  stones.  The  grooves 
show  plainly  the  methods  of  hafting  them,  by  withes  bound  around 
them  and  fastened  to  the  handles.     Stone  implements  of  the  modern 

*  In  the  most  populous  mound  districts  north  of  the  Ohio  river,  glacial  deposits 
of  gravel  and  bowlders  were  found  almost  every-where,  furnishing  ample  and  con- 
venient supplies  of  granite,  jasper,  and  other  fine  stones,  for  the  aboriginal  imple- 
ment makers. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


255 


tribes  are  still  occasionally  found  with  wooden  handles  fastened  in 
the  same  manner.  The  o;rooved  or  flat  surfaces  on  the  handle  sides 
were  fitted  for  wedging  the  handles. 

The  specimens  found  vary  in  size  from  little,  light  hatchets  to 
large,  unwieldy  axes  weighing  seven  or  eight  pounds.  They  were 
doubtless,  used  for  many  mechanical  purposes,  as  well  as  for 
weapons.*  Several  varieties  of  grooved  stone  hammers  are  also  to 
be   found   in   the    Tennessee    collections,    and    implements    of   the 


Fig.  159. — Grooved  Stone  Axes  (One-fifth).! 

smooth  celt  class,   without  grooves,   or  with  but  slight  traces   of 
grooves,  are  among  the  most  common  types. 


®  Most  of  these  forms  of  grooved  axes  are  also  found  within  the  mound  area 
north  of  the  Ohio  river.  Nearly  exact  duplicates  of  some  of  them  are  also  to  be 
found  among  the  stone  implements  of  the  Zunis  and  other  tribes  of  the  pueblos  of 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  See  illustration  of  similar  forms  in  the  Second  Annual 
Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  pages  338-375.  The  cliff  dwellers  also  used  similar 
implements. 

t  For  convenience  in  illustrating,  Figs.  159,  160,  and  103  have  been  reproduced 
in  smaller  dimensions  from  Colonel  Jones's  valuable  work,  The  Antiquities  of 
the  Southern  Indians.  All  or  most  of  the  types  are  found  in  Tennessee.  We  have 
several  of  them  in  our  collection. 


256  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

Fig.  160  represents  some  of  the  typical  forms  of  celts  or  smooth 
stone  axes.  The  varieties  of  this  general  form  can  be  scarcely  be 
numbered.  Dainty  little  celts  are  found,  too  small  to  be  held  in  the 
hands  without  handles.  Others  are  as  large,  or  nearly  as  large,  as 
the  largest  grooved  axes,  and  must  have  been  strongly  hafted.     Mr, 


Fig.  160.— Typical  Celts  (One-fourth). 

Isidor  Bacherig  and  Mr.  Yiser,  of  Clarksville,  Tennessee,  have 
specimens  of  these  large  oval  celts  from  thirteen  to  fourteen  inches 
long,  and  weighing  four  or  five  pounds.  There  are  also  very  large 
specimens  of  this  class  in  the  Historical  Society's  collection.  Many 
of  the  medium  sized  celts  were  probably  used,  without  handles,  as 
fleshers  or  skinning  implements. 

In  the  collection  of  the  Historical  Society,  there  is  a  beautiful 
stone  axe  of  dark,  rich  greenstone,  of  unusual  size,  nearly  rectangu- 
lar in  form  (Fig.  161).  It  is  about  eight  inches  long,  four  inches 
wide,  and  is  shaped  like  a  broad  chisel  or  common  chopping  axe, 
with  flat  sides  and  square-edged  rims.  The  blade  has  been  ground 
to  a  sharp  edge.  It  is  not  over  three-fourths  of  an  inch  thick  at 
the  center. 

Many  of  these  axe  and  wedged-shaped  implements  were  prob- 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


257 


ably  used  with  wooden  and  horn   handles  as  chisels.     Indeed,  the 
great  variety  of  forms  and  sizes,  and  the  labor  expended  upon  them^ 


Fig.  161. — Stone  Axe  (One-iialf).* 

sugg-est  that  they  were  probably  used  for  a  number  of  mechanical 
purposes.  The  hardest,  and  often  the  most  beautiful,  materials 
were  selected  in  making  them.  We  have  one  of  brilliant  red 
jasper.      It   seems   singular   that    so    few   of   these   oval   celts   are 


-^v 


Fig.  162. — Ancient  Stone  Hammer  (One-third). t 

grooved,  as  many  of  them  must  have  been  used  as  axes.  Various 
devices  were  probably  adopted  in  hafting  them. 

In  General  Wilder's  collection  there  is  a  stone  hammer  with  a 
handle  of  tough  withe,  fastened  securely  to  the  center  by  a  partial 
covering  of  rawhide.     (Fig.  162.) 

This    ancient   implement  was   found    in  a  cave    in    the    Ozark 

*  Historical  Society  collection, 
t  Wilder  collection. 

17 


258  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

Mountains,  of  Arkansas,  near  Hot  Springs.  The  edges  of  the  hide 
covering,  although  partially  decayed,  bind  the  stone  tightly,  and 
keep  the  handle  in  place  with  the  aid  of  a  very  slight  depression 
around  the  center  of  the  stone.  Doubtless  many  of  the  large  smooth 
celts  and  axes  were  thus  hafted,  originally,  by  being  bound  with 
hide  coverings  about  the  handles.  There  is  another  specimen  in  the 
Wilder  collection  that  gives  very  valuable  information  as  to  the 
method  of  making  these  implements  of  hard  stone  in  the  pre- 
historic period,  and  illustrates  the  ingenuity  of  the  native  me- 
chanics. 

It  is  a  typical  celt  or  wedge-shaped  implement  of  compact 
stone,  found  in  East  Tennessee,  that  has  evidently  been  left  in  an 
•unfinished  state  by  some  ancient  workman,  as  it  is  evenly  and  en- 
tirely covered  with  small  indentations  or  marks  of  hammering  made 
in  the  process  of  perfecting  its  form.  It  has  in  fact  been  hush  ham- 
mered ov  pecked  into  shape  by  some  sharp  implement,  a  pointed  flint, 
or  possibly  a  piece  of  hematite.  It  must  have  been  very  difficult  to 
grind  or  polish  these  hard  celts,  axes,  and  other  implements  into 
shape,  and  this  method  of  pecking  or  bush  hammering  was  a  much 
easier  way  of  making  them  than  the  slow  j)rocess  of  grinding  or 
rubbing.  After  pecking  them  into  shape,  the  final  polishing  work 
was  probably  done.  We  have  a  number  of  specimens  that  still  show 
the  fine  and  regular  indentations  of  bush  hammering.  Many  of  the 
fine  pipes  were  probably  shaped  in  this  way.  The  finest  axe-shaped 
implement  yet  discovered  in  Tennessee  is  the  beautiful  specimen  of 
polished  greenstone,  with  a  stone  handle  and  double  edged  blade, 
found  by  Dr.  Joseph  Jones  in  a  large  sepulchral  mound  on  the 
bank  of  the  Cumberland  river,  opposite  Nashville,  and  illustrated 
in  Fig.  163. 

The  entire  implement  was  cut  from  a  single  piece  of  stone,  and 
is  about  thirteen  and  one-half  inches  long.  The  blade  is  over  six 
inches  in  length.  There  is  a  hole  in  the  end  of  the  handle  for  sus- 
pension. The  grave  in  which  it  was  found  contained  the  remains 
of  a  very  large  skeleton.  An  axe,  similar  in  form,  was  discovered  in 
York  district,  in  South  Carolina,  and  a  third  one,  a  little  larger,  but 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


259 


not  so  beautifully  made,  was  found,  a  few  years  ago,  in  Mississippi 
county,  Arkansas,  and  is  now  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  Morris,  of 
that  county. 


Fig.  163. — Stone  Ax,  with  Stone  Handle  (One-third).* 

The  stone  adze  of  metamorphic  slate  (Fig.  164)  was  found  in  a 
cave  near  Citico  creek,  Tennessee.  Much  labor  must  have  been  be- 
stowed upon  it,  as  the  stone  is  very  hard.  It  is  one  of  the  few 
specimens  discovered  with  the  handle  end  ground  into  shape  to  fit 


\ 


Fig.  164. — Stone  Adze  ( One-half). t 


its  wooden  socket.  It  must  have  been  a  useful  implement  in  its 
day.  Adzes  of  this  general  form,  securely  bound  to  wooden  han- 
dles, are  frequently  to  be  seen  among  the  implements  of  the  savage 
tribes  of  the  Pacific  Islands. 


*  Dr.  Jones  collection. 
t  Wilder  collection. 


260 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  separate  the  chisel  shaped  imple- 
ments from  the  celts  and  adze  and  axe-shaped  types.  Good  speci- 
mens of  these  general  forms,  of  the  smaller  class  of  tools,  are  shown 
in  Fig.  165.     They  are  made  of  hard  linely-polished  stones  of  rich 


Fig.  165. — Hatchets  and  Chisels  (One-third).* 

colors.  The  little  greenstone  hatchet  is  slightly  notched  for  haft- 
ing.  The  two  short  chisels  were  probably  held  by  wooden  or  horn 
handles. 

Very  similar  short  stone  chisels  are  found  in  the  Swiss  lakes, 


Fig.  166. — Implement  of  the  Swiss  Lake  Dwellers  (One-half).* 

securely  fastened  to  deer  horn  handles,  after  the  manner  shown  in 
Fig.  166.  Many  of  the  primitive  inhabitants  of  Switzerland  lived 
upon  its  lakes  in  rude  dwellings  constructed  upon  wooden  piles, 
thus  isolating  them  from  the  attacks  of  their  enemies.  Their  im- 
plements, preserved  from  decay  in  the  waters  beneath,  are  found  in 

*  Author's  collection. 


SMOOTH    STONE   IMPLEMENTS.  261 

great  numbers  when  the  lakes  are  drained.*  As  will  be  observed, 
the  Swiss  stone  implement  is  almost  identical  in  form  with  our 
Tennessee  types.  These  little  chisels  are  very  numerous.  Not  less 
than  twenty-iive  or  thirty  implements  of  this  class  may  be  found  in 
our  collection,  many  of  them  finely  finished,  and  of  very  beautiful 
colors  Some  of  them  are  almost  as  thin  and  symmetrical  as  a 
modern  paper  cutter.  The  Historical  Society  also  has  a  number  of 
them. 

Fig.  167  illustrates  other  forms  of  chisels  or  knives.  The  rude 
knife  was  recently  obtained  in  a  stone  grave  near  Nashville.  The 
ornamented  chisel  was  plowed  up  in  an  adjoining  field. 


Fig.  167. — Chisei,  and  Knife  (Two-fifths ).t 

As  might  be  expected,  many  common  cutting  implements  of 
stone  are  found  in  or  about  the  ancient  settlements,  or  "relic  beds." 
Three  small  specimens  are  shown  in  Fig.  168  (actual  size).  All 
were  probably  used  with  handles.  Judging  from  its  peculiar  form, 
the  little  knife  of  chipped  flint,  with  a  very  sharply  ground  edge, 
may  have  been  used  as  a  lance — possibly  as  a  doctor's  or  medicine 
man's  knife  or  lance.  It  was  certainly  made  for  some  delicate  cut- 
ting operation-  Conveniently  shaped  stones  that  could  be  easily 
sharpened  and  utilized,  frequently  found  a  place  in  the  aboriginal 
workshops  or  kitchens. 

■■•■■  We  obtained  a  small  collection  of  the  prehistoric  implements  and  pottery  of 
the  lake  dwellers,  including  two  horn  handled  stone  chisels,  at  Lake  Bienne,  Switz- 
erland, some  years  ago,  when  that  lake  was  drained  or  partly  drained. 

T  Author's  collection. 


262 


AKTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


The  implements  of  compact  shale,  outlined  in  Fig.  169,  were 
originally  evidently  irregular  fragments  of  stone.     The  edges  have 


Fig.  168. — Cutting  Implements  (Actual  Size).* 
been  rounded  by  use,  and  the  natural  blades  sharpened  with  little 


Fig.  169. — Cutting  or  Skinning  Implements  (One-half). t 

labor,  and  without  changing  their  general  forms.     They  seem  well 
fitted  for  skinning  hides,  and  other  useful  purposes. 

"-•■  Author's  collection, 
t  Johnson  collection. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMEi^^TS.  263 

Many  grooved  stones  have  also  been  found  that  were  used  in 
the  okl  work-shops,  perhaps  to  sharpen  or  grind  the  chisels  and 
knives.  A  flat  square  specimen  of  this  character,  of  tine-grained 
sandstone,  was  picked  up  in  the  Noel  cemetery,  and  is  represented  in 
Fig.  170.  We  can  not  be  certain  that  it  was  intended  as  a  sharp- 
ener, however,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  shaped  for  some  special 
work.  The  grooves  are  slightly  furrowed.  Somewhat  similar 
grooved  stones  were  used  by  some  of  the  modern  tribes  to  straighten 
and  round  their  arrow  shafts,  by  bfending  and  rubbing.  The  sand- 
stone grooves  are  well-fitted  for  smoothing  the  rough  edges  and 
knots  on  the  wooden  shafts. 

Considered  as  a  class,  the  most  beautiful  and  symmetric   an- 


FiG.  170. — Sharpening  ok  Smoothing  Stone,  Noel  Cemeteky  (One-half).* 

tiques  of  polished  stone  are  the  discs.  Very  great  numbers  of  them 
'must  have  been  used  in  ancient  Tennessee.  They  are,  in  fact,  a  spe- 
cialty of  this  section,  nearly  all  of  the  fine  specimens  that  enrich 
the  public  and  private  collections  of  other  states,  having  been  found 
in  the  valleys  of  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  rivers.  Upon  two 
shelves  in  our  collection  we  have  about  fifty  perfect  specimens  of 
the  finer  classes.  Typical  examples  of  these  discs  are  shown  in  Fig. 
171,  but  they  are  found  in  almost  innumerable  varieties  of  forms 
and  sizes.  The  greater  portion  of  them  are  made  of  quartz,  either 
nearly  pure  or  in  some  of  its  combinations  ;  a  fact  that  renders  it  dif- 
ficult to  interpret  their  use,  as  quartz  is  one  of  the  hardest,  as  well 
as  one  of  the  most  easily  fractured  stones.     How  these  discs  were 

*  Author's  collection. 


264 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


made  of  this  hard  substance,  and  in   such   exact  forms,  and  what 
were  their  uses,  are  among  the  enigmas  of  archaeology. 

There  are  no  specimens  of  aboriginal  stone  work,  not  even  the 
pipe  carvings,  that  show  more  skill  or  cost  more  labor.  The 
pipes  were  usually  made  of  steatite,  but  the  discs  were  carved, 
ground,  and  polished  from  the  hardest  materials.  It  would  re- 
quire the  practiced  eye  and  hand  of  the  most  skillful  modern  lapi- 


FiG.  171. — Typical  Stone  Discs  (One-fourth) 


dary  to  duplicate  some  of  them.  We  doubt  whether  the  average 
discus  of  the  old  Greeks  was  more  perfect  in  form. 

The  stones  were  selected  with  special  reference  to  beauty  and 
color.  Many  of  them  are  of  pure  white  translucent  quartz,  and  of 
richly  colored  quartzite.  Bluish  white  chalcedony,  and  beautiful 
varieties  of  calico  or  pudding  stones  were  also  utilized.  In  a  grave 
of  the  ISToel  cemetery  we  obtained  a  fine  specimen  made  of  rich 
cannel-coal,  with  a  most  brilliant  surface  pohsh.  The  large  dies 
are  usually  bi-concave,  and  from  five  to  six  inches  in  diameter. 
They  are  rarely  perforated.  This  is  a  charactftristic  of  about  one- 
half  of  the  smaller  specimens. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  large  discs  were  used  as  gam- 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS,  265 

ing  stones,  as  similar  stone  wheels  or  quoits  were  used  by  a  number 
of  modern  tribes  for  this  purpose.  Catliu  mentions  a  game  ("  tchung 
kee  ")  which  they  played  with  poles  and  a  stone  ring  about  three 
inches  in  diameter.*  Adair,  who  spent  considerable  time  among 
the  southern  Indians,  also  describes  their  manner  of  playing  the 
game  of  "  tchung  ke." 

It  was  played  upon  a  piece  of  clear  level  ground,  by  two  or 
four  or  more  players.  They  used  a  stone  "  two  fingers  broad  at 
the  edge,  and  two  spans  round "  (about  the  average  size  of  the 
large  stone  discs  now  found  in  Tennessee).  Each  player  had  a  pole 
about  eight  feet  in  length,  smooth  and  tapering  at  each  end. 
The  players  started  abreast  at  a  certain  distance  from  the  play- 
ground, when  one  of  them  rolled  the  stone  on  its  edge  through  the 
grounds.  Each  one  darted  his  pole  after  the  stone.  If  one 
struck  or  touched  it,  the  owner  counted  two.  The  game  must  have 
been  very  fascinating,  as  the  Indians  often  staked  their  wearing  ap- 
parel upon  the  result. 

Adair  states  that  "  all  the  American  Indians  are  much  ad- 
dicted to  this  game,  which  appears  to  be  a  task  of  stupid  drudgery; 
it  seems,  however,  to  be  of  early  origin.  The  hurling  stones 
which  they  still  use  have  been  from  time  immemorial  rubbed  smooth 
on  rocks,  and  with  prodigious  labor.  They  are  all  kept  with  the 
strictest  rehgious  care,  from  one  generation  to  another,  and  are  ex- 
empt from  being  buried  with  the  dead.  They  belong  to  the  town 
where  they  are  used,  and  are  carefully  preserved."  f 

Du  Pratz,  and  several  other  writers,  describe  similar  pastimes 
among  other  tribes,  and  Bartram  gives  accounts  of  the  "chunky 
yards  "  of  the  Creeks,  where  these  games  were  played.  There  can, 
therefore,  be  little  doubt  but  that  many  of  the  large  discs  or  "  dis- 
coidals  "  were  gaming  stones. 

*  Smithsonian  Report,  1885,  Part  II,  page  304. 

t  History  of  the  American  Indians  (Adair),  page  402.  The  large  "hurling" 
discs  are  rarely  found  in  the  stone  graves  in  the  vicinity  of  Nashville.  So  far  as  we 
can  learn,  but  a  single  one  has  been  discovered  buried  there,  and  that  had  been 
broken  into  two  pieces.     It  was  found  by  John  Blunkall. 


266 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


The  cheese  or  barrel-shaped  disc  of  heavy  granitic  rock,  illus- 
trated in  Fig,  172,  seems  well  fitted  for  use  as  a  gaming  or  hurling 
stone.  Like  most  of  the  large  discs  of  ordinary  forms,  it  can  be 
grasped  conveniently  in  the  hand.  It  was  found  by  Thomas  Chilton 
near  the  mouth  of  Nickajack  Cave,  Tennessee.  It  is  three  and  one- 
fourth  inches  high,  four  inches  in  diameter,  and  weighs  nearly  four 
(4)  pounds.  Large  specimens  of  this  type  may  be  seen  in  the  Wilder 
collection,  and  in  the  collection  of  the  Athenaeum,  at  Columbia, 
Tennessee. 

Many  of  these  beautiful  and  symmetric  discs,  however,  have 


Fig.  172.— Barrel  or  Cheese-shaped  Disc  (Two-fifths)."^" 

peculiar  forms,  and  are  unfitted  for  rolling  in  direct  hues.     Some  of 
them  have  irregularly  beveled  sides,  and  were  evidently  intended  for- 
other  uses,  perhaps  for  other  methods  of  gaming. 

Some  of  these  unusual  types  are  presented  in  Fig.  173.  They 
are  from  the  stone  graves  and  cemeteries  near  Nashville.  The  disc 
in  the  center,  of  cannel  coal,  is  as  symmetrical  and  as  brilliantly 
polished  as  a  piece  of  velvet-black  jet  from  Tiffany's.  The  disc 
on  the  right,  with  two  small  artificial  depressions  on  it,  is  of  nearly 
pure  yellowish  quartz.  The  third  is  of  compact  silicious  stone. 
All  are  smooth   and  flat  on  the  lower  sides.     Their  forms  seem  to 


Author's  collection. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS.  267 

suggest  some  special  uses.  Some  of  them  resemble  the  well-shaped 
weighing  stones,  found  in  the  old  groceries  and  apothecary  shops  of 
Pompeii.  Possibly  some  of  them  were  for  similar  uses  in  the  abo- 
riginal trading  shops.  Dr.  J.  M.  Saflord,  of  Vanderbilt  University, 
many  years  ago  discovered  a  handsome  bi-concave  quartz  disc,  with 
a  spherical  ball  of  the  same  stone,  that  fitted  exactly  into  the  cavity 
on  the  side  of  the  disc.  Discs  nearly  spherical  in  form  are  not  un- 
common, and  occasionally  an  exact  sphere  is  found.  The  Rev.  C.  F. 
Williams  has  a  quite  perfect  stone  sphere,  four  (4)  inches  in  diam- 
eter, in  his  collection. 

As  one  views  the  varied  forms  and  rich  colors  of  these  inter- 
esting objects  grouped  in  a  cabinet,  they  seem,  like  some  of  the 
graceful  vessels   of  pottery,  to  represent  a  better  state   of  art  and 


Fig.  173. — Unusual  Types  of  Discs  (Two-fifths).* 

societ}"  than  the  accepted  status  of  aboriginal  life  in  the  Mississippi 
valley.  We  have  constantly  to  bear  in  mind  the  intuitive  art  in- 
stinct, natural  to  the  North  American  Indians,  to  reassure  ourselves 
that  they  are  not  the  work  of  some  superior  and  different  race. 

There  are  also  many  little  discoids,  too  large  for  beads,  and  too 
small  for  ordinary  gaming  stones,  that  must  have  been  intended 
for  special  purposes.  One  is  occasionally  found  rich  enough  in 
color  and  finish  to  adorn  a  collection  of  gems.  Doubtless,  some  of 
them  were  used  as  spinning  implements  or  spindle  whorls. 

Spinning  and  weaving  have  been  among  the  earliest  industries 
of  primitive  man,  and  traces  of  the  simple  implements  used  are 
found  among  the  antiquities  of  nearly  all  countries.  Dr.  Schliemann 
discovered  hundreds  of  them   among  the   ruins  of  Troy.     We  have 

*  Author's  collection. 


268  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

a  number  of  the  pottery  whorls  used  by  the  ancient  lake-dwellers 
of  Switzerland  that  do  not  difler  in  general  form  from  these  Ten- 
nessee types  from  the  graves.  The  ancient  terra-cotta  whorls  of 
Mexico  and  Peru  are  about  the  same  size  and  weight.  It  seems,  in- 
deed, quite  certain,  from  the  remains  of  cloth  found  in  the  caves  of 
Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  and  from  the  tracings  of  woven  fabric 
impressed  upon  the  vessels  of  clay,  from  the  graves,  that  the 
distaff  and  whorl  were  not  unknown  to  the  early  inhabitants  of 
Tennessee. 

From  historic  accounts,  we  learn  that  some  of  the  modern 
southern  Indians  had  some  knowledge  of  the  art  of  weaving  the 
coarser  grades  of  fabric.  Adair  states  that  "  the  Muskohge  or 
'  Creeks'  passed  the  woof  with  a  shuttle;  and  they  have  a  couple 
of  threadles,  which  they  move  with  the  hand,  so  as  to  enable  them 
to  make  good  dispatch,  something  after  our  manner  of  weaving."  * 
Du  Pratz  also  describes  the  method  of  weaving  practiced  by  the 
l^atchez  Indians :  "  They  plant  two  stakes  in  the  ground,"  he 
says,  "  about  a  yard  and  a  half  asunder,  and  having  stretched  a  cord 
from  one  to  the  other,  they  fasten  their  threads  of  bark  double  to 
this  "cord,  and  then  interweave  them  in  a  curious  manner  into  a 
cloak  of  about  a  yard  square,  with  a  wrought  border  around  the 
edges."  t 

The  remains  of  ancient  cloth  discovered  in  the  caves,  and  the 
impressions  upon  pottery  from  the  graves,  have  been  of  the  coarser 
grades  of  fabric. | 

*  History  of  the  American  Indians,  page  422. 

t  History  of  Louisiana,  A^'ol.  II,  p.  231.     London,  1763. 

t  From  the  description  given  by  Judge  Haywood  of  the  cave  or  mummy 
burials,  the  remains  discovered  were  wrapped  with  skins,  mantles  and  cloths  of 
feathers,  and  coarse  fabrics  made  from  the  inner  barks  of  trees. — Natural  and  Abo- 
riginal History  of  Tennessee,  pages  163,  166,  191,  338;  Aboriginal  Remains  of  Ten- 
nessee, pages  1,6.  La  Salle  tells  us  that  when  he  visited  the  large  Indian  town  of 
the  Taensas,  upon  the  Lower  Mississippi,  he  found  the  men  wearing  white  cloaks 
woven  of  the  inner  lining  of  mulberry  bark. — La  Salle  (Parkman),  page  281.  De 
Soto's  journalists  report  that  the  natives  of  Alabama,  in  1540,  "  wore  mantles  made 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS.  269 

It  is  quite  probable  that  the  progressive  villagers,  who  seem  to 
have  made  considerable  advances  in  other  arts,  and  who  used  the 
various  convenient  implements  found  in  the  graves,  acquired  some 
knowledge  of  the  art  of  weaving  the  finer  grades  of  textile  fabrics, 
but  we  have  no  positive  information  of  this  fact. 

Unfortunately,  the  original  fabric  of  cloth  used  by  the  mound 
building  tribes  has  wholly  disappeared.  In  our  explorations,  we 
have  found  in  the  graves  no  traces  of  cloth  that  could  be  identified 
with  certainty.  Perhaps  some  of  our  assistants  may  have  unearthed 
fragments  of  cloth,  but  they  were  unobserved  or  unreported.  Dr. 
Jones  states  that  "  in  the  numerous  stone  graves  which  I  have 
opened,  traces  of  the  garments  which  originally  surrounded  the 
bodies  could  be  discovered  in  only  one  of  the  most  perfectly  con- 
structed stone  coffins. "'     No  further  particulars  are  given.* 

The  stone  sepulchres  were  too  damp  and  too  rudely  constructed 
to  preserve  the  remains  of  ancient  cloth  fabrics,  but  the  impressions 
left  upon  the  fragile  but  enduring  vessels  of  pottery  have  enabled 
us  to  obtain  much  valuable  information  as  to  its  quality  and 
texture. 

Hundreds  of  vessels  are  found  impressed  with  the  coarser 
grades  of  cloth  and  matting  used  in  supporting  and  molding  the 
large  vessels  of  pottery.  A  good  illustration  of  these  imprints  may 
be  seen  upon  the  large  vessel  from  Nashville  in  Plate  X.  Fig.  174 
also  represents  an  impression  of  ancient  woven  work  upon  a  vessel 
from  a  mound  in  Jefferson  county,  Tennessee.  It  is  very  similar  to 
the  fabric  traced  upon  the  Nashville  pottery. 

A  piece  of  diagonal  fabric  is  shown  in  Fig.  175  from  an  im- 
pression upon  a  vessel  from  Polk  county,  Tennessee. 

of  the  inner  rind  and  bark  of  trees,  and  others  of  a  species  of  grass,  which,  when 
beaten,  was  not  unlike  flax. — Conquest  of  Florida  (Irving),  page  230. 

*  Aboriginal  Remains,  page  6.  Upon  the  copper  ornament  or  cross  found 
by  Prof.  Putnam  in  a  grave  upon  Zollieofier's  Hill,  near  Nashville,  he  reports  that 
there  were  "  slight  evidences  of  its  having  been  in  contact  with  a  finely  woven  fab- 
ric, thus  showing  that  this  ancient  people,  who  were  well  advanced  in  the  ceramic 
arts,  also  possessed  the  knowledge  of  weaving." 


270 


ANTIQUITIES    OP    TENNESSEE. 


These  illustrations  of  fabrics  are  from  the  Third  Annual  Report 
ot  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  where  this  subject  is  most  intelligently 
considered  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Holmes  in  an  article  upon  "Prehistoric 
Textile  Fabrics,"  page  39.  Mr.  Holmes  has  taken  impressions  in 
clay  from  the  molds  of  the  cloth  fabric  left  upon  the   ancient  pot- 


FiG.  174. — Fabric  Impressed  itpon  Pottery. 

tery,  and  thus  the  cords  and  threads  of  the  cloth  are  brought  out 
in  relief,  and  preserved  in  the  casts  of  clay,  showing  the  exact 
texture.* 

As  stated  heretofore,  it  seems  probable  that  some  of  the  sym- 


FiG.  175. — Diagonal  Fabric  Impressed  upon  Pottery. 


metric,  little  stone  discs  found  in  the  graves  and  ancient  settlements 
were  spinning  whorls.  Good  examples  of  these  whorls,  made  of 
highly  polished  greenstone  and  diorite,  are  shown  in  Fig.  176. 
The    natural    objects    are    exact    and    perfect    in    form.      Several 

*  We  are  indebted  to  Major  J.  W.  Powell,  director  of  the  Bureau,  for  kindly 
furnishing  electrotypes  of  these  illustrations. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


271 


varieties  of  these  tine  whorls,  of  larger  and  smaller  sizes,  might 
be  presented.  The  holes  in  the  centers  are  carefully  drilled.  Many 
of  them  are  funnel-shaped,  or  countersunk,  as  if  made  to  be 
fitted  to  a  wooden  stick  or  spindle,  or  to  enable  the  thread  to 
be  fastened  with  a  wedge  or  pin.  Mr.  Conant,  in  his  investigations 
among  the   ancient   cemeteries    of  Missouri,   discovered   a   pierced 


Fig.  176. — Spinning  Whorls  (One-half).* 

wheel  of  earthenware  which  he  regarded  as  probably  a  "  spindle- 
whorl."  t 

The  forms  of  the  pottery  whorls  of  the  ancient  lake  dwellers 
of  Switzerland  (from  Lake  Bienne)  are  illustrated  in  Fig.  177.  Per- 
forated stones  or  whorls  of  a  ruder  character,  and  of  irregular 
shapes,  are  also  found  in  the  stone  graves  and  about  the  ancient 
"  relic   beds "  in    the   vicinity  of  Nashville — wheels   too   large   for 


Fig.  177. — Ancient  Swiss  Spinning  Whokls  )Two-THiRDs).t 

beads.  They  are  generally  made  of  sandstone,  and  look  like  the 
pierced  wheels  found  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  California 
graves.  Some  of  the  large  types  may  have  been  perforated  ham- 
mers. Specimens  of  this  class  are  shown  in  Fig.  178.  The  per- 
forations are  countersunk. 

*  Author's  collection. 

t  Footprints  of  Vanished  Races,  page  94. 

t  Author's  collection. 


272 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


Fig.  179  represents  other  forms  of  small  discs  of  the  finely  fin- 
ished class.  The  smallest  specimen  is  of  brilliant  translucent 
quartz.  The  fact  that  a  considerable  portion  of  these  fine  "  wheel 
stones  "  are  not  perforated  seems  to  be  an  indication  that  the  pierced 
wheels  may  possibly  not  have  been  used  as  spinning  whorls.  The 
flattened  sphere  form  is  a  very  familiar  one.     It  occurs  in  various 


Fig.  178. — Perforated  Discs  or  Whorls  (Two-thirds).* 

sizes.  We  have  beautiful  specimens  three  'or  four  inches  in  diam- 
eter. The  peculiar  circular  depressions  on  two  of  the  discs  will 
be  noticed.  Some  of  these  depressions  look  like  mechanical  pivot 
sockets. 

One  of  the  specimens  is  marked  with  incised   cross-lines,  but 


Fig.  179. — Small  Discoids  (Two-thirds).* 

we  do  not  regard  tliis  figure  as  a  symbol  of  any  special  significance 
beyond  mere  ornamentation.  Prehistoric  cross-shaped  ornaments 
and  symbols  will  be  considered  hereafter. 

One   of  tlie   most  remarkable  specimens  of  the  disc  shape  is 
illustrated  in  Fig.  180.     It  is  a  symmetrical   disc  of  clay  iron-stone 


Author's  collection. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS.  273 

from  Carthage,  Alabama,  evidently  artificial  in  its  form,  as  it  be- 
longs to  a  well  known  type  of  discoids  quite  common  in  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  and  Tennessee.  We  have  a  number  of  similar  forms. 
Since  it  left  the  hands  of  the  native  lapidary,  however,  in  its  jpres- 
ent  form,  it  has  become  coated  over  its  entire  surface,  by  some  natural 
process^  with  a  thin  layer  of  lustrous  limonite  or  hematite.  Parts  of 
this  brilliant  coating  have  scaled  off,  and  left  it,  as  it  appears  in 
the  engraving — an  artificial  disc — with  a  natural  coating  of  iron. 
"We  are  indebted  to  Prof.  R.  B.  Fulton,  of  the  University  of  Mis- 
sissippi, for  this  unique  specimen. 

Fine  general  types  of  discoids  will  be  found  in  the  collection  of 
the  Tennessee  Historical  Society  ;  also,  in  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 


FiG    180. — Artificiai  Disc  Coated  with  Iron  (Actual  Size).* 

tion,  the  Cincinnati  Art  Museum,  the  JTicklin  collection,  General 
Wilder's  collection,  and  in  various  local  cabinets.  The  majority  of 
them  are  from  Tennessee  or  sections  adjacent.  There  are  many  fine 
specimens  in  the  Johnson  collection,  and  in  the  Douglass  collection, 
in  JSfew  York  City.  Captain  Johnson  recently  paddled  his  canoe 
down  the  Caney  Fork  river  in  search  of  "  relics,"  and,  to  our  sur- 
prise, brought  back  about  twenty-five  "  discoidals,"  ten  or  twelve  of 
them  of  the  largest  size,  and  very  beautiful,  showing  how  numerous 
these  discs  must  have  been  in  ancient  Tennessee. 

From  the  large  number  of  small  discoids  discovered  in  the 
graves  and  cemeteries,  it  is  clear  that  these  interesting  objects  were 
made    and  used   by  the    industrious   villagers   buried   there.      The 

*  Author's  collection. 

18 


274 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


large  discs,  or  a  considerable  portion  of  them,  we  think,  were  also 
probably  the  work  of  the  same  Indians,  or  closely  allied  tribes ;  but 
nearly  all  the  native  tribes  appear  to  have  used  somewhat  similar 
gaming  stones. 

There  is  a  class  of  stone  discs  found  in  Alabama  and  Georgia, 
and  occasionally  in  Tennessee,  of  the  forms  represented  in  Fig.  181. 
We  call  them  "  plates,"  as  they  are  flat,  and  quite  different  from 
the   ordinary   discoidals.      These   specimens    are   from    Lauderdale 


Fig.  ISl.^Discs  or  Plates  (One-fourth).* 

county,  near  Florence,  North  Alabama.  They  are  made  of  fine 
sandstone,  and  are  respectively  five  and  six  inches  in  diameter. 
The  noticeable  notches  on  the  rim  of  the  large  plate,  running  regu- 
larly, but  not  entirely  around  it,  are  usually  found  on  the  large 
discs,  and  probably  had  some  special  significance.  It  is  singular 
that  the  countersunk  holes  at  the  top  of  the  disc  do  not  entirely 
pierce  the  stone.  Two  good  examples  of  these  stone  plate  forms 
were  found  in  a  mound  on  the  Black  Warrior  river,  in  Alabama, 
and  are  illustrated  in  the  Smithsonian  publications.!  And  a  fine 
specimen  from  the  Tumlin  mound,  in  Georgia,  appears  in  Colonel  C. 
C.  Jones's  Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians  (Plate  XXII).     A 

*  Author's  collection.    The  finest  specimen  of  the  disc  plates  yet  discovered 
is  illustrated  in  the  next  chapter  (Fig.  236).     The  serpent  design  is  engraved  upon  it. 
Smithsonian  Collection  (Rau),  page  3. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS.  275 

specimen  from  East  Tennessee  is  also  illustrated  in  the  Second  An- 
nual Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology.  Colonel  Jones  was  of 
opinion  that  these  objects  were  used  for  sacred  or  ceremonial  pur- 
poses. Their  presence  in  the  mounds  seem  to  confirm  this  view. 
Some  of  the  plainer  forms,  we  think,  were  probably  used  for  domes- 
tic or  culinary  purposes.     We  have  discovered  a  rude  flat  plate,  of 


Fig.  182. — "Paint  Cup,"  with  Pestle,  from  New  Mexico.* 

similar  form,  ten  inches  in  diameter,  in  one  of  the  old  cemeteries 
near  Nashville.  Its  sides  are  as  flat  and  smooth  as  the  Alabama 
plates. 

Among  the  suggestions  as  to  the  uses  of  the  bi-concave  or 
saucer-shaped  discs,  we  notice  they  are  frequently  labeled  -'  paint- 
cups"  by  collectors.  Many  of  them  seem  well  fitted  for  mixing  and 
holding  paints. 

A  well-shaped  disc,  apparently  of  the  ordinary  Tennessee  pat- 
tern, from  Kew  Mexico,  with  "  a  paint-pestle  "  in  it,  is  illustrated 
in  the  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  (Fig.  182), 
and  designated  a  "  paint-cup."     The  pestle  has  a  hole  in  the  side, 

*  National  Museum. 


276  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

probably  intended  to  hold  the  dry  paint.  We  are  satisfied,  however, 
that  most  of  the  symmetrical  bi-concave  discs  were  probably  not 
designed  for  paint-cups. 

Ruder  forms  of  discs,  concave  or  cup-shaped  on  but  one  side, 
are  occasionally  found,  that  were  evidently  used  for  mixing  paints 
or  other  materials. 

A  specimen  of  this  character,  from  near  Nashville,  with  the 
little  stone  muller  found  with  it,  is  represented  in  Fig.  183.  It  is 
made  of  hard  metamorphic  stone,  and  has  evidently  been  pecked 


Fig.  183. — Stone  Paint  Cup  (One-half).* 

into  its  present  form  by  some  sharp  implement.  It  does  not  belong 
to  the  ordinary  discoidal  class.  It  is  irregular  in  form,  and  its  base 
is  nearly  flat.  It  is  so  different,  in  fact,  in  shape  and  material,  from 
the  bi-concave  types,  that  it  offers  very  good  evidence  that  the  lat- 
ter were  not  "  paint-cups."  Most  of  the  large  "  gaming  discs  "  have 
also  thumb-holes  or  central  depressions  on  the  sides,  which  would 
interfere  with  their  use  as  paint-cups.  Well-formed  little  cup-shaped 
vessels  of  stone,  very  suitable  for  holding  and  mixing  paints,  and 
probably  intended  for  that  use,  are  also  frequently  found  in  the 
graves  and  cemeteries. 

Two  of  them  are  represented  in  Fig.  184.  The  round  bowl- 
shaped  cup  of  compact  limestone,  from  the  Noel  cemetery,  is  as 
nicely  hollowed  out,   and  finished,  as  if  made  to  hold  the  tattoo 

*  Historical  Society  collection. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


277 


rouge  upon  the  toilet-table  of  an  Indian  princess.     The  Historical 
Society  has  one  of  dark-red  jasper. 

Dr.  J.  F.  Grant,  of  Pulaski,  Tennessee,  has  a  fine  specimen,  of 
yellowish  stone,  ornamented  in  relief  with  birds'-claws  (Fig.  185). 


Fig.  184. — "Paint  Cups,"  Davidson  County  (One-half).* 

A  delicate  little  stone  pestle,  with  a  well-ground  end,  found 
near  it,  stands  in  the  bowl.  Little  bowls  of  pottery-ware,  hollow 
iron-stone  nodules,  and  rude  and  accidental  forms  of  cup-stones, 
were  also  doubtless  used  for  holding  paints,  or  for  similar  purposes, 
as  they  are  found  about  the  old  cemeteries,  and  sometimes  contain 
the  remains  of  paint  or  some  coloring   matter.     We  can  only  ap- 


FiG.  185.— Paint  Bowl  and  Pestle  (Two-thirds).! 


proximate  the  uses  of  some  of  these  objects.  They  may  have  been 
intended  for  salt  holders,  or  other  conveniences  in  the  domestic 
economy  of  these  villagers. 

Stone  bowls  of  a  larger  type  have  also  been  discovered  in  Ten- 
nessee and  the  adjacent  states.     Those  found  in  the  eastern  section 

*  Author's  collection. 

t  Dr.  J.  F.  Grant's  collection. 


278 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


and  in  the  Carolinas  have  usually  been  made  of  steatite — a  fire- 
proof stone  easily  worked.  A  well-shaped  limestone  vessel  twenty- 
two  inches  in  diameter,  found  in  a  mound  in  iSTorthern  Mississippi, 
is  illustrated  in  Jones's  Aboriginal  Remains,  page  144.  Among 
the  antiquities  of  Utah  and  Isew  Mexico,  large  stone  mortars  or 
"  metates  "  are  quite  common.  Similar  vessels  were  also,  doubtless, 
used  by  the  industrious  farmers  and  villagers  of  the  Stone  Grave 
race,  but,  being  too  large  for  burial  in  the  graves,  they  have  not 
survived  the  waste  of  time   and  fire.     They  were  probably  also  re- 


FiG.  186. — Stone  Mortar. 


garded  as  family  property  in  the  communal  houses,  and,  therefore, 
were  not  buried  with  the  dead  as  individual  effects. 

"  Maize  pestles"  are  found  in  abundance,  showing  that  mortars 
must  have  been  in  use.  Some  of  them  may  have  been  made  of 
hard  wood.  Rude  stones  were  also,  doubtless,  hollowed  out  and 
utilized  as  mortar  cavities. 

One  of  these  large  bowls  of  limestone,  found  at  Hickman's 
Ferry,  on  the  Cumberland  river,  below  Nashville,  and  probably  used 
as  a  maize  mortar,  is  shown  in  Fig.  186. 

Examples  of  the  forms  of  stone  pestles  quite  common  in  Ten- 

*  Johnson  collection. 


SxMOuTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


279 


nessee,  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  187.  We  have  a  half  a  dozen  good 
specimens  in  our  collection.  Long,  solid  cylinders,  or  pestle-shaped 
implements,  carefully  made  of  hard  stone,  that  were  probably  in- 
tended for  pounding  maize  or  beans,  have  also  been  discovered. 
They  may  have  been   suspended  from  the  elastic  limbs  of  trees  in 


Fig.  187. — Stone  Pestles. 

the  process  of  pounding  or  churning,  after  the  custom  adopted  by 
some  of  the  tribes  of  the  Pacific  coast.  General  Wilder  has  one  of 
these  large,  round  pestles,  about  two  inches  in  diameter  and  nearly 
two  feet  long — a  fine  specimen,  very  similar  to  the  types  found  in 
California. 


Fig.  188. — Steatite  Tube,  Sumner  County  (One-sixth).* 

Long  cylinders  or  "telescopes"  are  also  found  in  Tennessee, 
very  carefully  drilled  with  holes.  Fig.  188  illustrates  one  of  the 
steatite  tubes,  in  the  collection  of  the  Tennessee  Historical  Society. 
It  was  found  in  Sumner  county,  Tennessee,  near  the  ancient  earth- 
works at   Saunderville. 

*  Historical  Society  collection. 


280  ■  ANTIQUITIES    OP    TENNESSEE. 

It  is  about  twenty-three  inches  long  and  two  and  one-half  inches 
in  diameter.  The  hole  drilled  through  it  is  about  three-eighths  of  an 
inch  in  diameter,  and  is  uniform  in  size  throughout  its  entire  length, 
excepting  at  one  end,  where  the  opening  is  wider  (one  and  one-half 
inches)  and  funnel-shaped.  This  heavy  implement,  or  the  material 
of  which  it  was  made,  must  have  been  transported  three  or  four 
hundred  miles  from  its  native  bed  on  the  borders  of  ISTorth  Caro- 
lina, Mr.  D.  R.  Coward,  of  Clinton,  Tennessee,  has  kindly  sent  us 
a  sketch  of  a  similar  steatite  tube  recently  plowed  up  near  Clinton. 
It  was,  unfortunately,  badly  broken. 

A  tube  of  simpler  form,  in  the  collection  of  Rev.  C.  F.  Will- 
iams, of  Maury  county,  Tennessee,  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  189, 


Fig.  189. — Steatite  Tube,  Maury  County  (One-sixth ).••• 

It  is  seventeen  and  three-fourths  inches  long,  and  weighs  nearly 
nine  pounds.  Its  outside  diameter  is  three  inches  at  the  large  end, 
and  about  a  half  inch  less  at  the  small  end.  The  bore  is  about  a 
half  inch  in  diameter  at  the  latter  end,  increasing  to  an  inch  and  a 
quarter  at  the  large  end.  Since  the  engraving  (Fig.  189)  was  pre- 
pared, Mr.  W.  E.  Myers,  of  Carthage,  Smith  county,  sent  us  a  very 
similar  tube  for  examination.  It  is  about  an  inch  less  in  outside 
diameter  and  a  half  inch  longer  than  the  Williams  tube. 

A  fine  specimen  of  polished  steatite  of  the  hour  glass  or  dice 
box  form  of  tubes  is  photo-engraved  from  the  original  in  Plate 
XV.  (Author's  collection.)  It  is  eight  inches  long,  and  about  two 
inches  in  diameter  at  the  ends.  The  openings  at  each  end  are 
about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  are  funnel  shaped,  and  taper 
to  about  a  half  inch  at  the  center.  The  inside  surface  shows 
that   the  holes  were  made    by  a  gouge    or  some  sharp  instrument 

*  Rev.  C.  F.  Williams  collection. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS.  281 

that  has  left  traces  of  furrows  upon  it,  and  not  by  a  rotary  drill- 
ing.'^ 

On  opposite  sides  of  one  end  of  the  stone  there  are  five  little 
arrow  or  angle-shaped  hieroglyphs  or  symbols  carefully  carved,  in- 
tended probably  to  represent  some  totemic  idea,  or  possibly  the 
name  or  sign  manual  of  its  ancient  owner.  Markings  or  symbols 
of  ownership  upon  the  implements  of  primitive  races  are  not  un- 
common.f 

Since  this  tube  was  photo-engraved,  we  have  obtained  a  very 
fine  and  a  much  larger  specimen  of  the  same  character.  It  was 
found  by  "  Uncle  Arthur,"  one  of  our  "  explorers,"  in  a  stone  grave 
of  the  J^oel  cemetery,  showing  that  these  interesting  implements 
were  probably  made  and  used  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  ancient 
town  or  city  located  there. 

It  presents  additional  evidence  that  the  best  art  of  ancient  Ten- 
nessee must  be  attributed  to  these  people.  The  larger  tube  has 
small  holes  on  the  side  near  each  end,  probably  intended  for  hang- 
ing cords.  These  large  tubular  objects  bear  some  resemblance  to 
the  tube  pipes  of  the  California  Indians — illustrated  in  the  govern- 
ment reports. :{: 

It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  the  bore  in  each  tube  is  dif- 
ferent, and  peculiarly  formed.  None  of  them  are  fitted  for  con- 
venient use  as  pipes,  and  two  of  them  are  larger  and  heavier  than 
the  largest  calumet  pipes  known.  Somewhat  similar  stone  tubes 
were  used  by  the  California  Indians  as  medicine,  healing,  or  cupping 
tubes,  and  these  Tennessee  tubes  may  have  been  used  for  similar 
purposes. II 

■•••  A  beautiful  tube  of  this  form,  found  in  Georgia,  is  illustrated  in  Antiquities  of 
the  Southern  Indians  (C.  C.  Jones),  page  359. 

t  Prehistoric  Times  (Lubbock),  page  11. 

t  Smithsonian  Report,  1886,  Part  I,  Plates  XV  and  XYI,  where  the  hour-glass 
form  and  other  tube  forms  may  be  seen.    See  also  "Wheeler's  Survey,  Vol.  7,  page  125. 

II  Vanegas,  in  his  history  of  California,  mentions  the  use  of  stone  tubes  by  the 
medicine  men  of  the  California  Indians,  and  states:  "One  mode  was  very  remark- 
able, and  the  good  effect  it  sometimes  produced  heightened  the  reputation  of  the 
physician.    They  applied  to  the  suffering  part  of  the  patient's  body  the  chaciiaco,  or 


282  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

The  ancient  inhabitants  of  California  and  the  Far  West,  and 
the  inhabitant  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  appear  to  have  adopted 
many  similar  habits  and  customs. 

Judge  Haywood,  whose  History  of  Tennessee  sometimes 
seems  more  like  a  romance  of  wonderful  stories  than  a  history, 
gives  a  most  remarkable  description  of  one  of  these  tubes  of  the 
hour-glass  form,  discovered  many  years  ago  near  Rogersvdle,  Ten- 
nessee. He  says :  "  When  the  stone  trumpet  is  blown  through,  it 
makes  a  sound  that  can  be  heard  perhaps  two  miles,"  and  that 
"  probably  it  was  used  for  similar  purposes  to  those  for  which  the 
trumpets  of  the  Israelites  were  used,  namely,  principally  to  con- 
vene assemblies,  and  to  regulate  the  movements  of  the  army." 
"  But  a  more  important  question,"  continues  the  Judge,  "  is  whence 
could  those  who  made  the  trumpet  have  known  its  properties  and 
use?  They  could  not  have  attained  that  knowledge  through  the 
large  horns  of  animals ;  there  were  none  such  here,  or  they  never 
would  have  made  this  stone  trumpet.  The  maker  must  have 
learned  its  use  from  some  nation  that  employed  the  trumpet  in 
sounding  charges,  or  for  giving  directions  to  march,  or  to  stop 
the  pursuit  of  an  enemy."  Three  full  pages  are  thereupon  de- 
voted by  the  learned  judge  to  an  argument  that  "this  nation  must 
have  been  the  Israelites  of  Judea."  * 

We  have  exhausted  our  blowing  powers  upon  two  similar  "  stone 
trumpets "  in  our  collection,  without  eliciting  any  satisfactory  re- 
sponse in  the  way  of  music  or  noise,  and  we  scarcely  think  it  pos- 
sible that  these  tubular  objects  could  have  been  designed  "for 
martial  music,"  as  stated. 

a  tube  formed  out  of  a  very  hard  blapk  stone,  and  through  this  they  sometimes 
sucked,  and  other  times  blew,  but  both  as  hard  as  they  were  able,  supposing  that 
thus  the  disease  was  either  exhaled  or  dispersed.  Sometimes  the  tube  was  filled 
with  wild  tobacco,  lighted,  and  here  they  either  sucked  in  or  blew  down  the  smoke, 
according  to  the  physician's  direction ;  and  this  powerful  caustic,  sometimes  without 
any  other  remedy,  has  been  known  entirely  to  remove  the  disorder." — Vol.  I,  page 
97.     London,  1759. 

*  Natural  and  Aboriginal  History  of  Tennessee,  page  210. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


283 


We  may  feel  assured,  however,  that  the  aboriginal  Tennesseans 
were  not  without  musical  instruments.  The  tube  or  whistle  oi 
dark  gray  steatite,  eleven  and  one-half  inches  long,  represented  in 
Fig.  190,  never  fails  to  respond  in  ample  volume  to  a  good  pair  of 
lungs,  although  not  always  in  harmonious  notes.  The  form  of  this 
interesting  tube  clearly  indicates  its  use.  It  was  plowed  up  in  a  field 
in  Pleasant  Cove,  Warren  county  (Middle  Tennessee),  by  Mr.  John 
Blanks,  and  presented  by  him  to  its  present  owner.  Dr.  Thomas 
Black,  of  McMinnville,  Tennessee,  who  kindly  "loaned  it  to  the  writer. 
The  sectional  view  shows  its  interior  construction,  and  the  artistic 
and  mechanical  skill  with  which  it  was  made.     This  tine  relic  ap- 


^g888?8^g?^g??l^gg^^88^^8SS«8®^ 


Fig.  190. — Prehistoric  Stone  Whistle,  Wakren  County  ((Jne-thikd). 

pears  to  be  unique.  We  have  no  knowledge  of  a  duplicate.  Hol- 
low bone  whistles,  constructed  upon  somewhat  the  same  principle, 
and  w^th  the  elliptical  holes  on  the  side,  were  very  common  amono- 
the  Far  West  tribes.  The  California  tribes  and  the  cliff  dwellers 
used  them,  and  a  number  of  engravings  will  be  found  in  the  gov- 
ernment reports  illustrating  them.* 

Fig.  191  (from  Dr.  Rau's  illustration)  shows  the  general  form 
of  the  bone  whistles  of  the  California  tribes. 

We  have  also  in  Tennessee  antiques,  akin  to  the  stone  tubes 
and  hour-glass  forms,  which  we  have  designated  "  funnels."  A 
specimen  seven  and  a  half  inches  long,  carved  from  light  gray 
steatite,  is  represented  in  Fig.  192. 

■•■'Smithsonian  Collection  (Ran),  page  64;    Smithsonian   Report,  1886,  Part  I, 
Plate  XXVI. 


284 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


It  was  found  on  an  island  in  the  Tennessee  river,  near  Chatta- 
nooga. It  does  not  appear  to  have  been  intended  for  use  as  a  pipe, 
as  the  opening  at  the  large  end  is  wide  and  flaring  like  a  funnel, 
and  not  bowl  or  pipe-shaped.     The  small  end  is  not  well  fitted  for  a 


Fig.  191. — Bone  Whistles. 


stem,  but  a  small  quill  or  hollow  bone  might  be  conveniently  in- 
serted there. 

An  object  of  the  same  general  character,  carved  from  fine  sand- 


FiG.  192. — Steatite  "'Funnel"  (One-third).! 

stone,    was   recently    discovered   in    exploring   the   earth-works    at 
Lebanon,  Tennessee,  by  Mr.  D.  G.  Charles. 


*  Smithsonian  collection, 
t  W.  E..  French  collection. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


285 


Outlines  of  the  front  and  sides,  and  of  the  funnel-shaped  open- 
ing, are  shown  in  Fig.  193.  It  is  nearly  live  inches  long.  The 
major   axis    of  the   elliptical    opening   is    about  two  and    one-half 


Fig.  193. — Sandstone  "Funnel,"  Lebanon  Works  (One-half).* 

incnes.  The  ornamental  work  on  the  sides  has  been  most  skillfully 
and  artistically  executed.  The  ends  of  the  funnel  have  a  fine  sur- 
face polish,  but  the  sides  are  smooth  and  plain,  although  sym- 
metrically rounded. 


Fig.  194. — Stone  Tubes  (Three-fifths) 


"We  can  only  conjecture  the  uses  of  these  peculiar  objects,  but 
they  seem  well  fitted  for  some  domestic  or  mechanical  purposes. 
They  may,  however,  have  been  used  for  smoking  or  for  medicine 


*  Author's  collection. 


286 


ANTIQUITIES    OP    TENNESSEE. 


tubes.  One  of  tlie  long,  hollow  cylinders,  shaped  like  an  hour- 
glass, would  form  two  of  these  funnels,  if  divided  in  the  middle,  into 
two  parts. 

Fig.  194  illustrates  two  tubes  or  perforated  objects  of  stone, 
from  the  vicinity  of  ISTashville,  of  smaller  sizes  and  of  a  different 
class.  The  larger  specimen  is  of  green  stone  (Historical  Society  col- 
lection);  the  smaller  is  steatite  (author's  collection).  In  the  John- 
son collection,  there  is  an  example  of  the  latter  form,  of  bright  red 
jasper.  .  _ 

The  symmetrical  rings  of  stone  are  also  among  the  enigmas 
from  the  stone  graves.  Occasionally,  one  of  our  "  explorers " 
brings  in  a  specimen  that  looks  as  if  it  might  have  come  from  a 


Fig.  195.— Stone  Rings  (Two-thirds). 

modern  jewelry  or  toy  store  rather  than  from  one  of  these  rude 
sepulchers.     Fine  types  are  also  found  in  East  Tennessee. 

Examples  of  these  stone  rings  are  shown  in  Fig.  195.  The 
larger  ring  is  from  an  ancient  mound  settlement  on  an  island  in 
the  Tennessee  river,  above  Chattanooga.* 

The  origmal  is  as  w^ell  finished  and  as  graceful  as  a  modern 
napkin  ring,  and  looks  surprisingly  like  one.  The  small  ring  was 
discovered  by  Prof.  Putnam  in  a  grave  within  the  Lebanon  works. 
Both  are  carved  from  dark  steatite. 


-  We  are  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Mrs.  E.  T.  Noel,  of  Nashville,  for  this  fine 
specimen. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


287 


Two  rings  of  the  same  material,  and  a  large  ring  of  black  shale 
(Fig.  196),  were  found  in  the  cemeteries  near  Nashville.* 

The  two  beautiful  rings  of  steatite  look  like  burnished  jet,  and 
are  as  perfect  in  form  as  modern  art  could  make  them.  It  is  indeed 
difficult  to  realize  that  they  have  been  buried  for  centuries  In  the 
earth.  Like  some  of  the  tine  pipes  of  the  same  material,  their  long 
inhumation  has  not  affected  their  polished  surfaces. 

One  could  scarcely  be  more  surprised  to  see  a  gold  bracelet 
lying  in  the  debris  of  a  stone  grave  than  one  of  these  bright  sym- 
metrical rings.  They  look  like  fine  lapidary  work,  and  seem  en- 
tirely foreign  to  their  surroundings  in  and  about  the  graves,  yet 
they  are  absolutely  genuine   antiques,  types  of  the  most  advanced 


Fig.  196. — Fine  Stone  Rings,  from  the  Graves  in  the  Vicinity  of  Nashville. 

art  of  the  prehistoric  race,  buried  centuries  ago  in  these  old  ceme- 
teries. They  equal  some  of  the  best  examples  of  old  ^Mexican  art. 
Their  uses  can  not  be  determined  with  certainty.  They  were  prob- 
ably used  as  earring  pendants  suspended  by  cords,  as  two  of  them 
were  found  in  the  same  grave.  They  doubtless  belong  to  the  same 
class  of  ornaments  as  the  pottery  and  copper  plated  rings  described 
in  the  chapter  upon  pottery.  Copper  wheels,  somewhat  analogous 
in  form,  have  also  been  found  in  the  graves,  and  will  be  illustrated 
in  the  next  chapter.     Large  circular  rings  and  discs  were  among  the 


*  The  steatite  rings  were  found  by  JNIr.  John  Blunkall  in  a  stone  grave  a  few 
miles  west  of  Nashville.  The  large  ring  was  found  by  Jas.  Cox  in  a  grave  at  Mound 
Bottom,  about  twenty  miles  west  of  Nashville.  They  are  in  the  collections  of  R.  A. 
Halley  and  the  author. 


288 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


familiar  ornaments  for  the  ears  among  the  advanced  races  of  hoth 
l^orth  and  South  America.  They  are  to  he  seen  upon  the  ancient 
tablets,  pictographs,  and  idols. 

The  beautiful  little  wheel  of  compact  limestone,  nearly  two 
inches  in  diameter,  illustrated  in  Fig.  197,  may  also  have  been  de- 
signed for  an  earring  ornament,  or  pendant,  to  be  hung  by  a  cord 
around  the  central  projection.  Its  proportions  are  remarkably  ac- 
curate. It  would  not  be  possible  to  make  a  more  exact  wheel 
with  the  aid  of  a  compass.     Two  of  these  rings  were  found  in  a 


Fig.  197. — Symmetrical  Stone  Ring,  Smith  County. 


grave  in  Smith  county,  and  were  kindly  sent  to  the  writer  for  ex- 
amination and  representation  by  Messrs.  Myer  and  Fergusson,  of 
that  county. 

It  seems  the  progressive  villagers  that  once  lived  in  the  vicinity 
of  I^ashville  must  have  had  some  knowledge  of  the  use  and  con- 
venience of  tables,  if  we  are  to  judge  from  the  little  specimen  il- 
lustrated in  Fig.  198. 

The  head  of  a  skeleton  rested  upon  this  sandstone  table  when 
it  was  found  by  Mr.  Frank  Cheatham,  in  excavating  a  grave  of  the 
E"oel  Cemetery.  The  little  table  is  about  seven  inches  long,  four 
and  one-half  inches  wide,  and  two  inches  high.  Its  outlines  are 
exact  and  well  formed,  as  represented.     It  doubtless  performed  some 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


289 


useful  service  in  the  lifetime  of  its  owner,  who  was  probably  the  oc- 
cupant of  the  grave  in  which  it  was  found.  The  most  highly  es- 
teemed articles  owned  by  these  old  Tennesseeans  must  have  been 
buried  with  them,  as  the  rude  sepulchers  contain  much  more  valu- 


FiG.  198. — Sandstone  Table,  Noel  Cemetery  (One-fourth).* 

able  treasures  than  have  been  found  outside  of  them,  within  the  an- 
cient settlements. 

The  cones  or  "  muUers  "  form  another  interesting  class  of  ob- 
jects of  polished  stone  or  ore,  quite  common  in  Tennessee.  They 
appear  to  be  a  specialty  of  this  state,  although  found  also  in  the  ad- 
jacent states,  and  sometimes  north  of  the  Ohio  river. 

Several  types  are  represented  in  Fig.  199. 


Fig.  199. — Cone-shaped  Objects  (One-third). t 


The  illustrations,  however,  lack  the  rich  metallic  luster  of  the 
originals.  They  are  usually  made  of  hematite,  but  specimens  of 
steatite  and  other  stones  are  found. 

These  curious  and  symmetrical  little  conoids  have  generally 
been  designated  "  muUers "  or  paint  grinders,  but,  after  carefully 

••■  Cheatham  collection, 
t  Author's  collection. 

19 


29G 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


observing  the  various  types,  we  do  not  think  they  were  intended 
for  this  purpose.  They  are  too  exact  in  form,  and  well  tinished, 
and  most  of  them  are  too  pointed  for  practical  use  as  muUers. 
They  also  show  no  evidence  of  abrasion  or  grinding  at  the  apices 
or  points.  The  round  top  specimens  are  rare,  and  show  no  signs 
of  rubbing.  In  a  lot  of  a  dozen  specimens  we  have  but  one  suitable 
for  use  as  a  paint  muller.  We  have,  however,  no  better  theory  to 
offer  as  to  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  designed.  We  noticed 
a  rather  flat  cone  in  General  Wilder's  collection,  suggestively  labeled 
"  liver  pad,"  a  name  probably  as  near  the  truth  as  "  muller." 

Akin    perhaps    to    these    conoidal    forms,    are    the    hematite 
rectangles  or  segments,  very  indifferently  illustrated  in  Fig.  200. 


Fig.  200. — Hematiti   oiii    l^     Iwo  tifths). 


They  are  made  of  lustrous  hematite,  and  are  among  the  most 
beautiful  of  the  specimens  of  polished  ores.  Some  of  them  are 
pierced  for  hanging;  others  are  without  holes.  Duplicates  of  the 
smaller  specimens  are  found  in  the  mounds  of  Ohio.f 

The  stone  pendants,  gorgets,  and  pierced  tablets  found  in 
Tennessee,  that  appear  to  have  been  suspended  by  strings  or 
worn  upon  necklaces  as  breast  ornaments  are  very  numerous.  It 
would,  in  fact,  be  impracticable  to  illustrate  all  of  the  varied  forms. 
Many  of  the  types  of  the  mound  districts  of  Ohio  and  West  Vir- 
ginia are  found  here.     They  are  usually  made  of  slate,  steatite,  or 

*  Author's  and  Johnson's  collections. 

t  Ancient  Monuments,  pages  206,  236,  237.     Squier  and  Davis  classed  them  with 
the  perforated  tablets. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


291 


jasper,  but  other  stones  were  also  used  in  making  them.     We  shall 
not  attempt  to  present  the  ordinary  forms.     Three  types  from  the 


Fig.  201. — Pendants  or  Pierced  Tablets  (Two-thirds).* 
vicinity  of  Nashville  are  shown  in  Fig.  201.     All  show  evidence  of 


Fig.  202. — Bird  Pendant  (Two-thirds). 

having  been  used.     The  object  on  the  right  may  have  been  a  me- 
chanical implement. 

The  beautiful  pendant,  carved  from  steatite  in  the  form  of  a 
bird  (Fig.  202),  is  from  Smith  county  (Middle  Tennessee),  and  be- 
longs to  the  collection  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Myer,  of  Carthage,  who  kindly 
loaned  it  for  representation.  It  was  probably  a  totem  or  family 
emblem. 


*  Historical  Society  and  author's  collections. 


292  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

Another  fine  specimen,  of  dark  talcose  slate,  from  Clay  county, 
is  shown  in  Fig.  203.  It  looks  like  a  chisel  or  cutting  implement, 
but  the  wide  end  is  not  sharp,  and  the  ornamentation  shows  that  it 


Fig.  203. — Stone  Pendant  (Two-thirds).* 

was  not  intended  for  practical  use  as  a  tool  or  implement.  It  is  not 
unlike  some  of  the  pendants  hanging  from  the  necklaces  upon  fine 
engraved  shells  from  the  mounds,  representing  the  human  figure. 

Other  objects  of  stone  found  near  ISTashville  are  illustrated  in 
Fig.  204.  The  larger  specimen  has  been  perforated  at  the  ends,  but 
it  is  not  a  tube,  as  the  holes  do  not  extend  through  it.  Similar 
specimens  are  found  in  the  Ohio  valley.  We  can  not  suggest  any 
use  for  the  small  double-pointed  object  shaped  like  a  pick-ax. 

Two  peculiar  objects  from  Middle  and  West  Tennessee  are  rep- 
resented in  Fig.  205,  one  of  gray  slate,  the   other  of  compact  jas 
pery  stone.     They  appear  to  have  been  made  for  some  special  pur- 
poses, perhaps  for  some  mechanical  use.     They  may  have  been  fish- 
ing or  weaving  implements. 

*  Johnson  collection. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


293 


Among  the  finest- specimens  of  polished  stone  found  in  Tennes- 
see are  the  implements  or  objects  usually  classed  as  "ceremonials" 


Fig.  204. — Stone  "Implements"  (Two-fiftiisj.* 

from  their  supposed  use  as  symbols,  parade  weapons,  or  insignia  of 
authority.  The  similaritary  of  many  of  them  to  the  ancient  "  cere- 
monials "  of  other  sections  of  the  mound  area,  show  that  the  tribes 


Fig.  205. — Polished  Stone  Implements  (Two-thirds).! 


of  Tennessee  must  have  been   connected   in  origin   or  customs  with 
the  inhabitants  of  widely  separated  districts.     The  comparison  of 

*  Author's  follection. 

t  Historical  Society  and  J.  G.  Cisco  collections. 


294  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE, 

local  types,  therefore,  may  assist  in  tracing  the   relations  and  mi- 
grations of  the  ancient  tribes. 


Fig.  206. — "Banner  Stones"  One-third).'' 


Two   large    and    beautiful    "  ceremonials,"    usually   classed   as 
"banner  stones"  or  "butterfly  stones,"  are  represented  in  Fig.  206. 


Fig.  207. — Banner  Stone  of  Quartz  (Two-THiRDS).t 

The  leaf-shaped  form  of  fine  gray  slate  is  from  the  stone  grave 
district  of  Williamson  county;  the  other,  of  dark  red  jasper,  is  from 
a  mound  settlement  in  Hickman  county.  Both  are  too  fragile  for 
any  rough  or  even  mechanical  use.  They  were,  doubtless,  used  as 
ornaments  or  symbols  upon  occasions  of  ceremony.  The  holes  may 
have  been  drilled  for  wooden  handles  or  staifs. 

A  handsome  specimen  of  light-colored  translucent  quartz, 
found  in  Montgomery  county,  Tennessee,  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  207. 

*  Historical  Society  and  author's  collection, 
t  Johnson  collection. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


295 


Another  type,  of  dark  yellowish  jasper,  found  near  the  Noel 
cemetery,  has  been  photo-engraved  in  Plate  XV  (author's  col- 
lection). 

The  labor  and  skill  expended  upon  these  beautiful  ceremonials 
indicate  that  they  were  highly  prized  by  their  owners,  and  mast 
have  been  made  for  some  special  uses. 

The  two  implements  represented  in  Fig.  208  are  also  classed 
with  the  ceremonials. 


Fig.  208. — Ceremonial  Implements  (One-third).* 

As  no  other  or  more  practical  use  has  been  suggested  as  to 
them,  we  call  them  ceremonial  spades,  or  maces.  They  are  made 
of  dark  shale  or  slate,  and  are  respecti".^ely  about  eight  and  twelve 
inches  in  length.  They  are  found  in  the  stone  grave  settlement, 
a  few  miles  south  of  Nashville,  near  Brentwood.  The  fine  speci- 
men of  this  form  of  polished  greenstone,  eleven  inches  long  (illus- 
trated in  Plate  XV  (author's  collection),  has  a  larger  and  more 
delicate  blade,  ornamented  with  notches.  It  seems  to  be  a  unique 
type.     We  know  of  no  duplicate.f 

Captain  Johnson  has  two  of  these  ceremonials  in  his  collec- 
tions— one  fifteen  and  three-fourths  inches  long,  the  other  a  delicate 
little  type,  five  and  one  half  inches  in  length — the  largest  and  the 


"•■■  Historical  Society  collection. 

t  For  this  fine  "  spade,"  we  are  indebted  to  our  friend,  H.  H.  Wilkerson,  whose 
name  upon  the  label  is  photo-engraved  upon  the  plate.  He  found  it  on  his  farm 
north  of  Nashville,  near  the  ancient  cemetery  on  White  creek. 


296  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

shortest  specimens  we  have  yet  seen.  These  implements  are  too 
dull  for  cutting  purposes,  and  must  have  been  too  valuable  for  use 
as  ordinary  agricultural  or  mechanical  tools. 

The  long,  delicate,  crescent-shaped  "implement,"  of  highly  pol- 
ished syenite,  represented  in  Plate  XV  (author's  collection),  also 
probably  belongs  to  the  ceremonial  class.  It  is  eleven  and  one-half 
inches  long.  Originally  it  was  probable  twelve  inches,  as  the  point 
at  one  end  has  been  broken.  It  was  found  by  Theodore  Haslem,  in 
excavating  a  cellar  in  the  ancient  burial  grounds  of  N'orth  Nash- 
ville.* 

Captain  Johnson  has  a  perfect  crescent,  a  little  longer  than 
the  specimen  photo-engraved,  and  another  is  illustrated  in  Pre- 
historic Remains  of  Kentucky  (Plate  VII).  Strange  to  report,  all 
of  them  are  made  of  hard  and  beautifully  colored  syenite. 

These  symmetrical  crescents  are  too  fragile  for  any  practi- 
cal use  as  tools  or  implements.  Their  graceful  forms  suggest 
that  they  may  have  been  used  as  symbols  by  the  sun  worshiping 
priests  of  the  Stone  Grave  race.  A  crescent,  carved  in  stone,  two 
inches  wide,  and  eight  inches  from  point  to  ponit,  was  discovered 
some  years  ago  in  a  tumulus  near  Oakland,  California.  It  was  sup- 
posed to  indicate  the  prevalence  of  sun-worship.  A  large  tumulus 
in  the  vicinity  was  of  the  typical  Tennessee  form.f 

We  have  endeavored  in  the  present  chapter  to  describe  and  il- 
lustrate characteristic  specimens  of  the  better  class  of  smooth  or 
polished  stone  "  implements  "  found  in  Tennessee.  Most  of  them 
are  from  the  central  portions  of  the  state.  We  regret  that  we  have 
not  had  leisure  and  opportunity  to  make  further  investigations  re- 
garding the  antiquities  of  the  other  sections  of  the  state,  and  of  the 
states  adjacent,  where  ancient  remains  of  much  interest  are  to  be 
found,  but  this  has  been  impracticable. 

*  Mr.  Haslem  kindly  presented  it  to  the  writer  soon  after  its  discovery. 

t  The  large  mound  was  circular  in  form,  twenty-five  feet  high,  and  three  hun- 
dred feet  in  diameter  at  its  base.— Rev.  D.  S.  Peet,  in  American  Antiquarian,  1889, 
page  361. 


SMOOTH    STONE    IxMPLEMENTS.  297 

Many  of  the  fine  types  illustrated,  probably  represent  the  high- 
est stage  of  culture  reached  by  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  America, 
north  of  Mexico,  and  they  are,  therefore,  of  special  value  to  the 
student  of  archaeology.* 

"■■■'Since  this  chapter  was  ■written  yve  learn  from  Mr.  Gerard  Fowke  that  t'wo 
crescent-shaped  objects  of  the  form  represented  in  Plate  XV  have  been  found  in 
the  mounds  of  the  Scioto  valley  in  Ohio. 


298  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


CH^FTER    IX. 

COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 

Native  Copper — Figures  of  the  Cross — Ear-rings  and  Ornaments — Copper  Imple- 
ments— Eelics  of  De  Soto — Implements  and  Objects  of  Bone — The  Fine  Spat- 
ulse — Vessels  of  Shell — Shell  Spoons — Shell  Fork — Beads — The  Shell  Gorgets 
or  Breast-plates — Gorgets  Engraved  with  the  Human  Figures — The  Douglass 
Gorget. 

The  antiquities  of  clay  and  stone,  considered  in  the  preceding 
chapters,  are  not  more  interesting  than  some  of  the  objects  and  im- 
plements of  shell,  bone,  and  copper  discovered  in  the  rude  sepul- 
chers  of  the  ancient  cemeteries.  Owing  to  the  great  distance  sepa- 
rating Tennessee  from  the  old  copper  mines  along  the  southern  bor- 
ders of  Lake  Superior,  articles  manufactured  from  native  copper  are 
comparatively  rare.  The  ancient  tribes  of  Wisconsin  were  bounti- 
fully supplied  with  weapons  and  implements  of  copper,  as  might  be 
expected  from  their  proximity  to  these  mines,  and  many  fine  speci- 
mens are  to  be  seen  in  the  archaeological  collections  of  that  state. 
The  mound  builders  of  Ohio  and  Illinois  were  also  much  better 
provided  with  implements  of  native  copper  than  their  kindred  in  the 
Cumberland  and  Tennessee  valleys.  The  copper  ores  found  in  the 
mines  of  East  Tennessee  w^ere  not  malleable,  and  the  natives  were 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  difficult  methods  of  smelting  and  utilizing 
them.  We  have  in  fact  no  positive  knowledge  that  the  mound  build- 
ers of  any  section  were  able  to  smelt  or  mold  the  pure  native  copper 
of  the  north,  or  even  the  more  easily  manipulated  galena  or  lead  ore. 

The  modern  Indians,  or  their  immediate  ancestors,  must  also 
have  known  of  the  ancient  copper  pits  of  Lake  Superior,  as  the 
early  explorers  found  both  the  northern  and  the  southern  tribes 
using  articles  manufactured  of  native  copper  obtained  from  that 
section.     Verazzano,  who   visited   the   southern  Atlantic    coast,  in 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


299 


1524,  reported  to  his  patron,  the  French  king,  that  he  fonnd  the 
natives  wearing  ear-rings  and  other  ornaments  of  copper,*  and  the 
Portugese's  account  of  De  Soto's  expedition  tells  us  that  the  In- 
dians of  the  province  of  Cutifachiqui  had  copper  axes,  and  used 
heated  copper  spindles  to  pierce  holes  in  their  ornamented  shells. f 
We  have  already  mentioned  the  discovery  in  the  stone  graves 


Fig  209. — Copper  Ornament  or  Cross  (Two-thirds). 

of  a  number  of  articles  of  copper.  A  few  others  may  be  added.  In 
the  aboriginal  cemetery,  on  "  Zollicoffer  Hill,"  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Cumberhmd  river,  west  of  Nashville,  Prof.  F.  W.  Putnam  found 
the  rude  copper  ornament,  or  cross,  illustrated  in  Fig.  209,  and  now 
in  the  Peabody  Museum,  at  Cambridge.  His  report  states  that  it 
was  obtained  in  a  stone  grave  of  the  usual  form,  "with  the  covering 

*  Aboriginal  Trade  (Rau),  page  90. 
T  History  of  Alabama.  \'ol.  I,  page  5."). 


300  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

stones  in  place,"  and  with  the  remains  of  a  skeleton  of  an  adult. 
The  copper  object  was  found  upon  the  breast  of  the  skeleton.  On 
one  side  of  the  grave  were  the  fragments  of  a  broken  dish. 

"  The  cross-like  form  of  this  ornament,"  Prof.  Putnam  states, 
"may  give  rise  to  the  question  of  its  derivation;  and  had  any  article 
of  European  make,  such  as  glass  beads,  brass  buttons,  etc.,  common 
in  Indian  graves,  subsequent  to  contact  with  the  whites,  been  found 
in  any  one  of  the  hundreds  of  graves  I  opened  in  Tennessee,  I 
should  consider  the  form  of  this  ornament  the  result  of  contact  with 
the  early  missionaries,  but,  from  the  total  absence  of  articles  de- 
noting such  contact,  I  think  it  must  be  placed  in  the  same  category 
with  the  '  tablet  of  the  cross,'  at  Palenque,  and  be  regarded  as  an 
ornament  made  in  its  present  form,  simply  because  it  was  an  easy 
design  to  execute,  and  one  of  natural  conception.  The  ornament  is 
evidently  made  from  a  piece  of  native  copper,  hammered  and  cut 
into  shape.  The  small  perforation  at  the  upper  border  still  contains 
a  fragment  of  the  string  by  which  the  article  was  suspended,  pre- 
served by  the  action  of  the  copper,  and  on  one  surface  of  the  copper 
are  slight  evidences  of  its  having  been  in  contact  with  a  finely 
woven  fabric,  thus  showing  that  this  ancient  people,  who  were  well 
advanced  in  the  ceramic  art,  also  possessed  the  knowledge  of 
weaving."  * 

Other  objects  of  copper  and  shell,  upon  which  crosses  are  rep- 
resented, have  been  discovered  in  the  stone  graves  of  Tennessee  and 
will  be  considered  hereafter. 

In  a  stone  grave  in  the  same  ancient  cemetery,  upon  "  Zolli- 
coffer  Hill,"  now  included  within  the  suburbs  of  "  West  ISTash- 
ville,"  the  writer,  about  twelve  years  ago,  discovered  a  small  carved 
wooden  wheel,  about  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  not  over  a  fifth 
of  an  inch  thick.  It  was  covered  upon  one  side  with  a  thin  cir- 
cular plate  of  copper,  much  decayed  from  oxidation.  The  wooden 
wheel,  and  a  small  rod  of  wood  attached  to  it,  untouched  by  the 
copper,  showed  little  evidence  of  decay.     Although  a  small  vessel 

*  Eleventh  Annual  Eeport  Peabody  Museum,  page  307. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


301 


of  pottery  was  found  in  an  adjoining  grave,  we  are  of  opinion  that 
the  stone  grave  in  which  the  wooden  wheel  was  found  was  of  com- 
paratively modern  date.  It  seem^  impossible  that  delicate  pieces 
of  wood,  without  a  covering  of  copper  or  some  preserving  material, 
should  remain  tirm  and  undecayed  through  a  series  of  centuries  of 
burial.* 

Dr.  Joseph  Jones  discovered  four  small  copper  plates,  or  orna- 
ments, stamped  with  rude  cross-shaped  figures,  in  a  stone  grave  of 
the  principal  burial  mound  within  the  Big  Harpeth  Works,  One 
of  them  is  represented  (two-thirds  size)  in  Fig.  210,  No.  1.  They 
were  found  beside  the  cranium,  and  as  they  were  pierced  with  holes 


Fig.  210. — Objects  and  Implements  ok  Copper. 

for  suspension,  it  is  probable  that  they  were  worn  as  ear-ring  pen- 
dants, or  as  ornaments  upon  a  necklace. f 

A  spool-shaped  copper  object,  very  similar  to  the  "ear-rings'' 
of  hammered  copper,  obtained  by  Prof.  Putnam  from  the  ancient 
mounds  of  Ohio,  was  found  by  Dr.  W.  M.  Clark,  of  ISTashville,  in 
Williamson  county,  Tennessee,  south  of  Is^ashville.  It  was  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  the  size  of  the  typical  Ohio  specimeus. 

*  Although  Middle  Tennessee  has  probably  not  been  permanently  occupied  by 
Indian  tribes  for  nearly  two  centuries,  the  Shawuees  are  reported  to  have  lived  dur- 
ing temporary  intervals  along  the  valley  of  the  Cumberland  at  a  later  period.  We 
have  discovered  many  evidences  of  modern  Indian  occupation  in  the  vicinity  of 
Nashville,  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  some  of  these  Indians  may  have  remained 
for  a  time  in  this  section,  and  may  have  buried  their  dead  upon  ZollicofFer  Hill 
within  a  comparatively  recent  period. 

t  Aboriginal  Eemains  (Jones),  page  5!). 


302  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

A  small  cord,  or  string,  probably  of  vegetable  fiber,  was  wrapped 
around  it,  as  shown  in  the  illustration  (Fig.  210,  !N"o.  2).  When  dis- 
covered, it  was  deeply  imbedded  in  a  large  mound,  in  a  layer  of 
ashes  and  burned  clay,  upon  a  level  with  the  original  surface  of  the 
ground.* 

Similar  wheels,  or  spool-shaped  objects  of  copper,  were  also  dis- 
covered in  a  mound  within  the  Savannah  works  (Fig.  9).  One  of 
them  is  represented  in  Fig.  210,  No.  S.f  In  general  form,  they  are 
not  unlike  the  rings  or  ear-ring  pendants  of  pottery  or  stone  (some 
of  them  plated  with  copper),  illustrated  in  preceding  chapters. 
The  similarity  of  these  ear  pendants,  or  personal  ornaments,  from 
the  mounds  and  graves  of  Ohio  and  Tennessee,  offers  additional  evi- 
dence of  the  intercourse  or  relationship  that  existed  among  these 
mound  building  tribes  during  the  prehistoric  period.  The  little 
copper  awl,  with  a  horn  handle  (Fig.  210,  No.  4),  one-half  actual 
size,  was  found  upon  Hhea's  Island,  Loudon  county,  Tennessee. J 
It  must  have  been  a  most  useful  little  implement  for  many  purposes. 
It  may  have  been  one  of  the  "copper  spindles"  with  which,  when 
heated,  the  natives  pierced  their  shell  ornaments,  as  stated  by  De 
Soto's  journalists.  A  few  well-made  celts  or  hatchets  of  hammered 
copper  have  also  been  discovered  in  Tennessee.  There  is  a  fine 
specimen  in  the  Wilder  collection,  and  one  from  the  Savannah 
mound  group,  illustrated  in  Rau's  Smithsonian  Collection  (page  61). 

In  a  mound  about  five  miles  east  of  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  Captain 
R.  D.  Smith,  of  the  Athenaeum  at  Columbia,  discovered  two  tliin 
copper  plates,  about  eleven  inches  long,  four  inches  wide,  and  about 
a  tenth  of  an  inch  thick.  The  one  we  were  able  to  examine  appeared 
to  have  been  made  of  hammered  native  copper,  although  it  was  quite 
uniform  in  thickness,  and  may  have  been  made  from  a  thin  sheet 
of  rolled  or  comparatively  modern  copper.  They  were  each  pierced 
with  five  holes,  two  at  each  end  and  one  in  the  middle.  Captain 
Smith   called  them  "  copper  sandals."     They  may  have  been   used 

*  Smithsonian  Report,  1877,  page  273. 
t  Smithsonian  Report,  1870,  page  408. 
t  Smithsonian  Collection  (Rau),  page  61. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


303 


for  this  purpose,  as  they  were  conveniently  shaped  to  fit  the  human 
foot,  and  were  slightly  curved  in  opposite  directions.  They  were 
also  considerably  worn  "  at  the  toe." 

The  fragments  or  ornaments  of  copper,  represented  in  Fig.  211, 
were  discovered  by  Mr.  D.  G.  Charles,  of  Florence,  Alabama,  a  civil 
engineer  of  intelligence,  who  reports  that  they  were  obtained  "in 
an  isolated  stone  grave  in  a  small  mound  twelve  feet  in  diameter, 
situated  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  the  west  bank  of  Buflr'alo 
river,  about  a  half  mile  from  Ashland,  Wayne  county,  Tennessee." 
There  was  a  large  artificial  mound,  of  the  typical  Middle  Tennessee 
form,  about  a  half  mile  distant.     In  the  same  grave,  Mr.  Charles 


Fig.  211. — Copper  Objects,  Probably  Relics  of  De  Soto  (Actual  Size).* 

foand  the  very  fine  engraved  shell  gorget  with  the  four  bird  heads, 
illustrated  in  this  chapter  (Fig.  231),  a  perfect  vessel  of  well  burned 
pottery,  and  a  great  number  of  large,  finely-formed  shell  beads,  all 
of  which  he  kindly  sent  to  the  writer,  with  the  statement  that  he 
had  sent  "the  entire  contents  of  the  grave,  minus  the  bones,  which 
crumbled  upon  exposure."  Very  few  graves  have  yielded  treasures 
of  such  value. 

The  larger  copper  disc  or  ornament,  about  two  inches  in  diam- 
eter, is  roughly  made,  and  is  shaped  somewhat  like  a  low-crowned 
hat  with  a  broad  brim.  Its  appearance  indicates  that  it  was  prob- 
ably made  from  a  thin  sheet  of  rolled  copper,  but  it  may  have  been 


*  Author's  collection. 


304  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

hammered  from  the  native  ore.  Fragments  of  a  mold  or  center 
piece  of  wood,  well  preserved,  were  found  inside  of  it. 

The  smaller  copper  object,  about  an  inch  in  diameter,  is  not 
rudely  made,  like  the  other,  but  is  evidently  the  outside  plate  of  a 
button,  or  beaded  ornament,  of  thin  copper  of  uniform  thickness. 
It  is  undoubtedly  of  comparatively  modern  manufacture,  and  was 
probably  stamped  by  machinery,  or  made  in  a  mold  prepared  for  the 
purpose. 

We  have  no  reason  to  doubt  the  discovery  of  these  objects  of 
copper  in  the  stone  grave,  as  reported,  with  the  other  remains  of 
shell  and  pottery.  The  latter  are,  beyond  all  controversy,  genuine 
remains  of  the  Stone  Grave  race  and  period.  The  engraved  gorget 
of  shell,  as  will  be  seen  later,  is  a  very  beautiful  specimen  of  a  well 
known  Tennessee  and  Mississippi  type.  It  would  be  almost  impos- 
sible to  successfully  counterfeit  it. 

There  is  but  one  satisfactory  theory  that  can  explain  the  pres- 
ence of  these  articles  of  copper  in  the  stone  grave  of  the  Wayne 
county  mound.  They  are  probably  relics  of  De  Soto's  campaign. 
They  look  like  harness  trappings  or  ornaments  of  the  old  Spanish 
horseman. 

Wayne  county  lies  upon  the  Alabama  and  Mississippi  border 
line,  not  far  from  De  Soto's  track  across  those  states,  and  but  a 
short  distance  from  the  point  where  the  battle  of  Chicaca  was 
fought.  The}'  are  somewhat  decayed  with  age  and  nse,  and  are 
doubtless  genuine  antiqaes,  but  they  are  not  pre-Columbian.  We 
class  them  with  the  relics  of  De  Soto  discovered  in  a  mound  in 
iN'orth  Mississippi  by  the  agents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and 
reported  in  "Work  on  Mound  Exploration,"  by  Dr.  C.  Thomas 
(page  9).* 

Bone  Implements. — Passing  to  a  consideration  of  the  imple- 
ments and  objects  of  bone  discovered  among  the  prehistoric  re- 
mains in  Tennessee,  we  find  that  these  articles  are  not  relatively  so 
numerous,  or  so  finely  finished,  as  many  of  the  antiques  of  stone, 

*  Described  in  Chapter  II. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


305 


pottery,  and  shell.  Bone  implements  of  a  rude  character,  coarse 
needles,  sharpened  points,  and  simple  mechanical  and  domestic 
tools,  such  as  necessity  would  suggest  in  a  primitive  state  of  society, 
are  frequently  found.  A  few  articles  have  also  been  discovered  that 
appear  to  represent  a  more  advanced  condition  of  the  ancient  indus- 
tries. Doubtless  many  more  objects  of  bone  of  great  interest  might 
have  been  found  by  careful  and  painstaking  explorations  among  the 
stone  graves,  but  in  the  majority  of  instances  the  graves  have  been 
excavated  by  unscientific  and   careless  collectors  and  relic  hunters, 


Fig.  212. — Bone  Implements  (Two-fifths).* 

searching  chiefly  for  vessels  of  pottery  and  curiosities  of  a  more 
striking  character. 

Some  of  the  bone  implements  of  the  ordinary  class  are  shown 
in  Fig.  212.  They  are  from  the  graves  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
Nashville. 

In  the  grave  of  an  adult  in  the  large  cemetery  on  Brown's 
creek,  Mr.  Otto  Giers  found  the  set  of  bone  implements  illustrated 
in  Fig.  213.  They  were  found  lying  together,  partly  under  the 
shoulder  or  upper  part  of  the  skeleton.  As  they  were  not  objects  or 
ornaments  that  might  have  been  deposited  in  the  grave  as  a  tribute 


Author's  collection. 

20 


306 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


to  the  dead,  it  is  possible  that  they  belonged  to  the  person  buried 
there,  and  that  they  were  the  tools  used  and  valued  by  him.  In 
another  grave  Mr.  Giers  found  a  great  number  of  very  small  bone 
implements,  similar  in  form,  and  about  three  inches  long.  They 
looked  like  little  toothpicks.  The  various  needles  or  implements 
illustrated  may  have  been  used  in  making  clothing  of  skins  and 
cloth,  in  working  untanned  skins  and  feather  work,  in  weaving  and 
making  nets,  and  in  other  industries. 

The  set  of  well  made  and  finished  little  spatulse  or  spade-shaped 
bone  implements  (Fig.  214)  was  discovered  by  Mr.  John  Blunkall, 


Fig.  213. — Set  of  Bone  Implements  (Two-fifths).* 

one  of  our  exploring  "  experts,"  in  a  stone  grave  on  the  Bass  farm, 
near  the  Cumberland  river,  a  few  miles  west  of  Nashville,  in  Janu- 
ary, 1890.  He  also  found  many  fine  vessels  of  pottery  and  stone 
implements  in  the  same  burial  grounds.  Doubtless  an  important 
village  or  advanced  settlement  was  located  in  that  vicinity  w^hen  the 
mound  and  fort  builders  were  in  power  in  Middle  Tennessee.  Mr. 
Blunkall  discovered  five  of  these  "  little  spades  "  lying  together,  but 
one  of  them  was  unfortunately  destroyed  in  digging,  and  h6  was 
able  to  secure  only  its  handle  and  fragments  of  the  blade.  The  four 
others  are  represented  in  the  engraving. 


*  Giers  collection. 


COPPER,    BONE,    AND    SHELL    OBJECTS. 


307 


They  were  found  in  a  grave  about  six  feet  in  length,  containing 
the  skeleton  of  a  full  sized  adult.  The  implements  were  laid  ap- 
parently within  the  grasp  of  the  hand.  The  largest  is  nine  and  one- 
fourth  inches  in  length,  and  has  a  blade  nearly  an  inch  and  a  half 
wide.     The  smallest  one  is  five  and  one-half  inches  in  length. 

These  remarkable  little  implements,  like  some  of  the  graceful 
vessels  of  pottery,  seem  to  represent  a  somewhat  advanced  culture. 
Indeed,  few  of  the  objects  discovered  in  the  graves  oflter  such  evi- 
dence of  a  settled  and  sedentary  state  of  society  as  the  little  set  of 
"  spades."  The  illustration  scarcely  does  credit  to  them.  The 
blades  are  all  slightly  curved  or  shovel-shaped,  and  they  have  been 


Fig.  214. — A  Set  op  Bone  Implements.* 

laboriously  carved  from  large  bones,  and  finished  with  nearly  as 
much  uniformity,  care,  and  skill  as  a  modern  mechanic  would  be- 
stow upon  a  set  of  implements  of  ivory  or  metal  They  look  as  if 
they  would  be  much  more  at  home  in  an  apothecary's  shop  than  in 
an  Indian  wigwam.  They  surely  can  not  be  regarded  as  belonging 
to  the  equipment  of  a  typical  hunting  or  fishing  Indian.  They  also 
seem  too  clean  and  delicate  for  use  in  mixing  mineral  paints.  Per- 
haps they  were  designed  as  little  spatuloe  for  mixing  the  salves  and 
decoctions  in  the  aboriginal  shop  of  some  old  medicine  man. 
Whatever  was  their  use,  they  at  least  ajrpear  to  represent  some 
trade  or  occupation  pertaining  to  a  civilized  or  semi-civilized  con- 
dition of  society. 


*  Author's  collection. 


308 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


The  articles  of  bone  represented  in  Fig.  215  also  have  a  some- 
what more  respectable  appearance  than  ordinary  "  Indian  relics." 
Views  of  the  two  sides  of  the  largest  object  are  presented,  to  show 
the  ornamental  carvings  upon  it.  It  is  probably  a  portion  of  a 
handle  or  implement.  It  was  found  in  the  gravel  bed  of  the  island 
in  the  Cumberland  river  below  the  extensive  burial  grounds  on  the 
east  bank  opposite  Nashville.  It  is  evidently  a  piece  of  aboriginal 
work.  The  bone  needle  is  from  a  stone  grave.  The  little  bird 
amulet  or  totem  is  not  unlike  the  types  of  rude  bird  heads  engraved 
upon  some  of  the  shell  gorgets  from  the  Nashville  district.     It  was 


Fig.  215. — Objects  of  Boxe  (Actual  Size).*' 

found  in  a  stone  grave  upon  Judge  Cooper's  farm,  containing  also 
vessels  of  pottery  and  beads,  by  Mr.  Buchanan  and  the  writer. 

Among  the  most  numerous  objects  of  bone  deposited  in  the 
stone  graves  are  the  vgrtebrse  of  animals.  Most  of  them  have  been 
ground  or  polished,  probably  by  use  as  implements.  We  have  two 
from  the  same  grave  that  have  been  ground  or  cut  into  cubes  with 
flat  sides.  They  may  possibly  have  been  used  in  polishing  pottery 
or  stone  implements.  As  heretofore  stated,  it  seems  singular  that 
tool  handles  of  bone  and  horn  are  not  more  frequently  found.  If 
commonly  used,  more  of  them  should  have  been  preserved.     It  may 


*  Giers  and  author's  collections. 


COPPER,    BONE,    AND    SHELL    OBJECTS.  309 

be  that  implement  handles  were  usually  made  of  wood,  as  we  have 
suggested. 

Objects  of  Shell. — The  objects  of  shell  discovered  in  the  an- 
cient cemeteries  of  Tennessee  are  of  special  interest.  Indeed,  we 
doubt  whether  any  of  the  antiques  of  pottery  or  stone  equal  in 
archseological  value  some  of  the  remarkable  engraved  gorgets  of 
shell  from  the  ancient  graves  and  mounds  of  Tennessee  and  the 
states  adjacent.  It  seems  there  was  an  age  of  shell  as  well  as  an 
"  age  of  stone "  in  ancient  Tennessee.  The  rude  sepulchers  of 
stone,  the  faithful  depositories  of  so  many  objects  of  aboriginal  art 
and  industry,  have  again  interposed  to  save  from  destruction  a  vast 
store  of  materials  of  shell — implements,  utensils,  vessels,  gorgets, 
beads,  pendants,  pins,  ornaments,  and  other  articles  in  great  variety, 
illustrating  the  manner  of  life  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Tennes- 
see. The  unburied  objects  of  shell  lost  by  the  waste  of  time  and 
exposure  doubtless  far  outnumbered  the  remains  found  in  the 
graves.  The  ancient  villagers  of  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee 
valleys  must  have  been  industrious  and  thrifty  travelers  and  traders 
to  have  been  able  to  bring  or  import  from  the  far  Gulf  or  South 
Atlantic  coasts,  by  purchase  or  exchange,  the  vast  numbers  of  arti- 
cles manufactured  from  marine  shells. 

According  to  the  journals  of  the  early  discoverers,  the  natives 
of  ancient  Florida  placed  large  shells  from  the  sea  upon  the  graves 
and  burial  mounds  of  the  dead.  Cabeza  de  Vaca  tells  us  that  sea 
shells  and  the  "hearts"  of  shells  were  among  the  articles  of  mer- 
chandise sold  by  him  and  exchanged  in  his  trading  expeditions 
through  the  Gulf  States.  Adair,  Bartram,  and  Haywood  also  men- 
tion the  use  of  drinking  cups  of  shell  by  the  modern  southern  In- 
dians. We  are  told  by  the  old  Spanish  chronicles,  that  the  great 
Aztec  chief,  Montezuma,  used  cups  of  "  natural  shells  richly  set 
with  jewels."  The  far  inland  Indians  of  the  pueblos  of  Arizona 
also  used  large  shells  from  the  sea  as  drinking  vessels.  We  might, 
therefore,  reasonably  expect  that  these  objects  would  be  deposited 
in  the  graves  of  the  ancient  Indians  with  their  other  worldly  treas- 
ures.    They  are  found  in  the  mounds  and  ancient  cemeteries  as  far 


310 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


from  the  seaboard  as  Iowa  and  Michigan,  but  nowhere,  it  seems,  in 
such  abundance  and  in  such  variety  of  forms  as  in  Tennessee. 

Mr,  W.  H.  Hohiies,  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  calls  Tennes- 
see a  "great  store-house  "  of  ancient  remains  of  shell.  More  than 
half  of  the  fine  engraved  gorgets  and  a  large  proportion  of  the 
other  objects  iUustrated  in  his  very  interesting  and  comprehensive 
article  upon  ancient  shell  remains,  are  from  the  valleys  of  the  Ten- 
nessee and  Cumberland  rivers. 

Of  the  marine  shells,  the  Busycon  perversum,  or  conch,  is 
found   in    the   greatest   numbers.     Thousands  of  them  must   have 


Fig.  216. — Conch  Shell  (Jups,  Noel  Cemetery  (Three-fifths).* 

been  used  in  manufacturing  the  various  utensils,  ornaments,  and 
implements  discovered.  The  interior  columns  were  utilized  in 
making  pins,  beads,  and  other  articles ;  the  outside  shells  remaining 
formed  useful  and  convenient  vessels  and  cups.  The  cassis,  the 
strombus,  the  oliva,  and  other  univalves  were  also  used.  The  main 
supplies,  however,  came  from  the  more  convenient  unios,  or  mussel 
shells  of  the  rivers.  They  were  pounded  into  powder  to  temper  the 
fine  clays  in  the  manufacture  of  pottery.  They  were  utilized  as 
spoons,  forks,  paint  cups,  knives,  and  mechanical  and  gardening 
tools.     Thousands  of  them  were  cut  into  beads  and  ornaments. 


t  Author's  collection. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


311 


Among  the  most  familiar  objects  made  from  the  conch  shells, 
are  the  cups  represented  in  Fig.  216.  The  little  shell  with  the  hole 
for  suspension  was  probably  a  toy  cup.  The  interior  columns  and 
partitions  have  been  skillfully  removed.  These  vessels  are  light 
and  convenient,  and  are  stronger  than  the  bowls  of  pottery.  The 
larger  specimen  illustrated  is  but  seven  inches  long.  We  have 
others  measuring  ten  inches,  and  still  larger  ones  are  found  in  the 
graves. 

Many  of  the  shell  forms  were  reproduced  in  pottery.  The  ves- 
sels represented  in  Fig.  217  were  evidently  fashioned  after  conch 
shell  models  or  suggested  by  them.* 


Fig.  217. — Shell  Forms  in  Pottery,  Noel  Cemetery  (One-third).? 

Since  the  illustrations  in  the  chapter  upon  pottery  were  pre- 
pared, we  have  obtained  from  the  Noel  cemetery  a  beautiful  vessel 
of  pottery  molded  in  imitation  of  a  double  shell,  suggested,  doubt- 
less, by  the  valves  of  the  unio  (Fig.  218).  It  is  a  fine  piece  of  ware, 
with  thin  walls  and  more  graceful  proportions  than  the  engraving 
represents.  Many  dainty  little  cups  in  pottery  were  also  fashioned 
in  the  shape  of  the  unio. 

The  vessels  of  shell  and  pottery  discovered  in  the  graves  were 
probably  originally  well  supplied  with  food,  placed  there  to  be  used 
upon  the  journey  into  the  next  world,  as  nearly  all  of  them  were 


*  A  vessel  of  pottery  from  a  burial  mound  in  Arkansas,  fashioned  in  almost  ex- 
act imitation  of  the  conch  shell,  is  illustrated  in  the  Second  Annual  Report  of  the 
Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Plate  XXII. 

t  Author's  collection. 


312 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


supplied  with  spoons.     The  food  has  disappeared  by  absorbtion  and 
decay,  but  the  spoons  are  generally  preserved.     They  are  found  in 


Fig.  218. — Double  Shell  Form  in  Pottery,  Noel  Cemetery.* 

the   vessels,  and   sometimes  within   the  very  bones  of  the   hands. 
Good  examples  of  the  shell  spoons  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  219.     The 


Fig.  219. — Typical  Shell  Spoons,  Noel  Cemetery  (One-half).® 

little  spoon  was  obtained  in  the  grave  of  a  child.  It  will  be  ob- 
served, from  the  side  of  the  bivalve  selected,  that  the  spoons  were 
made  for  use  in  the  right  hand,  showing  that  the  mound  builder, 
like  his  white  successor,  was  "  righthanded."     In  our  explorations, 


Author's  collection. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


313 


we  have  not  observed  a  spoon  made  for  use  in  the  left  hand ;  but  we 
are  informed  by  Mr.  Hohnes  that  there  are  two  specimens  of  this 
form  in  the  National  Museum  (from  Tennessee  and  Kentucky). 

A  shell  spoon  of  another  type  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  220.  It  is 
a  little  over  four  inches  long,  and  about  two  inches  wide.  Many 
varieties  of  these  convenient  little  utensils  are  found.  The  ancient 
tribes  of  Tennessee  were  evidently  more  refined  in  their  manner  of 
eating  than  some  of  their  more  savage  neighbors  outside  of  the 
mound  districts.  Their  shell  spoons  were  of  very  proper  and  lim- 
ited size.     Beverly,  in  his  History  of  Virginia,  informs  us  that  the 


Fig.  220.— Shell  Spoon,  Noel  Cemetery  (One-half).* 

Indians  of  the  Atlantic  coast  ate  with  large  cockle-shell  spoons. 
*'  The  Spoons  they  do  eat  with,"  he  states,  "  do  generally  hold  half 
a  Pint;  and  they  laugh  at  the  English  for  using  small  ones,  which 
they  must  be  forced  to  carry  so  often  to  their  Mouths  that  their 
Arms  are  in  Danger  of  being  tired  before  their  Belly."  f 

The  forms  of  the  shell  spoons  from  the  graves  were  also  used 
as  models  by  the  old  pottery  makers,  as  is  shown  by  the  bowl  rep- 
resented in  Fig.  221. 

The  original  vessel  is  a  much  better  imitation  of  the  spoon 
form  than  the  engraving.  The  walls  of  this  fine  bowl  are  almost 
as  thin  as  the  shell  after  which  it  was  modeled.  It  is  as  light  and 
delicately  formed  as  modern  china  ware,  and  has  doubtless  per- 
formed useful  service  m  its  day.  It  is  eight  inches  wide,  and  nearly 
ten  inches  lonsr. 


*  Author's  collection. 

t  History  of  Virginia,  page  154. 


314 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   TENNESSEE. 


Among  the  domestic  conveniences  of  the  Stone  Grave  race, 
knives  and  spoons  seem  to  have  abounded.  There  were  doubtless 
some  substitute  for  forks.  Perhaps  the  pointed  bone  implements 
supplied  their  place, .or,  more  likely,  aboriginal  fingers,  in  most 
cases,  performed  the  duty  now  assigned  to  forks;  yet  we  are  not 
without  evidence  that  these  progressive  villagers,  in  their  march 
toward  civilization  (for  they  were  evidently  making  good  progress 
in  that  direction),  had  begun  to  realize  the  necessity  for  forks,  and 


Fig.  221. — Spoon-shaped  Bowl,  Pottery  (One-fourth).* 

had  really  invented  an  aboriginal  fork  of  considerable  promise  (Fig. 
222).  This  unique  implement,  carefully  carved  from  the  side  of  a 
conch  shell,  is  a  kind  of  combination  spoon  and  fork.  It  was  dis- 
covered in  a  stone  grave  by  one  of  our  men  (George  Wood),  in  ex- 
ploring, under  our  direction,  the  ancient  burial  grounds  on  Judge 
W.  F.  Cooper's  farm,  on  the  bank  of  the  Cumberland  river,  a  few 
miles  above  l^ashville.  Its  shape  was  evidently  suggested  by  the 
form  of  the  human  hand,  which  had  doubtless  generally  officiated 
as  a  fork,  or  in  lieu  of  a  fork,  at  the  aboriginal  repast.  It  is  a  little 
over  three  inches  long,  and  about  an  inch  and  three-quarters  wide. 
This  little  implement  might  have  developed  into  a  very  convenient 
fork  in  a  century  or  more  of  progress.  The  hole  was  doubtless  in- 
tended for  suspension  on  the  neck  or  at  the  girdle  of  its  owner. 
Forks,  as  part  of  the  equipment  of  a  dining-table,  are  a  modern  inven- 
tion, but  three  or  four  centuries  old.  The  Turks  and  Chinese  have 
not  yet  learned  to  use  them.     They  were  unknown  to  the  Romans 

*  Author's  collection. 


COPPER,    BONE,    AND    SHELL    OBJECTS.  315 

and  Greeks,  and  to  Mexican  and  Peruvian  civilization.  We  may 
therefore  regard  this  embryo  fork,  or  spoon-fork,  as  a  most  interest- 
ing evidence  of  progress  among  the  natives  of  the  Cumberland  valley. 
It  is  probably  the  only  pre-Columbian  fork  discovered  in  America, 
and  may  antedate  all  other  forks  intended  for  individual  or  table  use. 


Fig.  1.'22. — An  Aboriginal  Fork  op  Shkll  (Actual  Size).'-- 

It  is  certainly  older  than  any  of  the  four-pronged  forks  of  civilized 
society,  as  they  are  an  invention  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Many  curious  pins  of  shell  are  also  found  in  the  graves.  Some 
of  the  long,  slender  forms  were  probably  used  as  ornaments  for  the 
hair ;  others  were  applied  to  mechanical  uses.  We  have  two 
"  pins '' from  a  grave  in  Jackson  county,  about  three  inches  long, 
with  heads  shaped  like  common  nails.  The  columellse  of  the  large 
conchs  or  busycons  furnished  most  of  the  material  for.  these  pins 
and  nail-shaped  objects. 

The  little  shell  bracket  (Fig.  223)  was  ingeniously  carved  from 
the  heavy  point  and  the  perpendicular  column  of  one  of  these  shells. 

The  ingenuity  of  the  mechanic,  and  the  taste  that  suggested 
this  useful  little  object,  seem  to  indicate  a  somewhat  advanced  con- 
dition of  society.  Such  articles  would  not  usually  be  found  in  the 
temporary  lodges  of  nomadic  tribes.  They  belong  to  the  homes  of 
a  sedentary  and  peaceful  community. 

*  Author's  collection. 


316" 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


Among  the  most  familiar  and  interesting  objects  obtained  from 
the  stone  graves  of  Tennessee  are  the  beads  and  personal  ornaments 
of  shell.  This  would  naturally  be  expected  from  the  characteritics 
of  the  native  races  of  America,  whether  savage  or  semi-civilized. 
All  the  modern  tribes  of  Indians  have  adorned  their  persons  and  ap- 


FiG.  223. — A  Bracket  of  Shell  from  a  Grave  (Actual  Size)."* 

parel  with  beads  and  ornaments.  The  Mexicans,  the  Peruvians, 
and  the  tribes  of  the  pueblos  were  no  exceptions  to  the  general  rule. 
Captain  John  Smith,  writing  of  Powhattan,  informs  us  that  he  was 
"  richly  hung  with  manie  Chaynes  of  great  Pearles  about  his 
necke,"  and  that  the  young  women  about  him  wore  "  a  great  chaine 
of  white  Beades  over  their  Shoulders."  f 

A  large  proportion  of  the  beads  of  shell  from  the  graves  do  not 
differ  materially  from  the  discoidal  and  tubular  forms  common 
among  the  modern  tribes.  Other  types,  however,  are  found,  un- 
known or  unobserved  in  later  times.  The  greater  portion  of  them 
have  lost  their  gloss  and  finish,  and  some  of  them  have  crumbled 

*  Historical  Society  collection. 

t  True  Relation  of  Virginia,  pages  33,  34. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


317 


into  fragments  or  dust,  but  we  have  secured  many  fine  specimens 
apparently  in  as  perfect  a  state  as  when  first  made.  It  would  be  a 
labor  to  count  the  number  of  beads  on  the  difiPerent  strings  hanging 
in  our  collection. 


Fig.  224. — Shell  Beads  fkom  the  Gkaves  (Actual  Size).^ 


Some   of  the  ordinary  forms   of  disc-shaped  beads  of  shell  are 
shown  in  Fig.  224  (actual  size). 

The  large  shell,  perforated  for  suspension,  the  Oliva  literata  of 


Fig.  225. — Large  Discoidal  Beads,  Hickman  County.*' 

the  Atlantic  coast,  is  frequently  found  with  other  beads,  and  prob- 
ably sometimes  hung  upon  the  strands  of  smaller  beads,  as  repre- 
sented. 

About  fifty  of  the  fine  large  discoidal  beads  (Fig.  225)  were 

*  Author's  collection. 


318  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

found  by  Mr.  Henry  Nixon,  of  Centerville,  in  a  single  grave  in 
Hickman  county  (Middle  Tennessee).  He  kindly  presented  them  to 
the  writer.  They  are  more  than  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diam- 
eter. The  holes  are  exact  and  carefully  drilled,  and  the  beads  are 
symmetrical  and  well  formed.  The  strings  that  held  all  these  beads 
have  long  since  decayed  and  disappeared,  but  many  of  them  are 
found  about  the  necks  of  the  skeletons  in  the  graves,  as  if  they  had 
been  w^orn  as  necklaces.  Some  of  them  were  probably  worn  as 
bracelets ;  others  were  doubtless  placed  with  the  dead  as  tributes. 
These  discoidal  beads  were  typical  varieties  used  by  the  modern  In- 
dians of  the  southern  coast,  when  first  visited  by  the  whites.  The 
great  numbers  of  them  found  suggest  that  many  of  them  were  prob- 
ably used  as  wampum  in  ornamental  belts  or  dress  bands,  or  per- 
haps as  shell  money. 

The  historic  tribes  of  both  the  North  and  South  used  certam 
varieties  of  shell  beads  as  currency.  Their  value  as  ornaments 
probably  first  led  to  their  being  adopted  as  a  convenient  medium 
of  exchange  in  bartering  commodities.  It  seems  scarcely  possible 
that  so  many  of  them,  of  exactly  the  same  size  and  form,  would 
have  been  manufactured  for  merely  ornamental  purposes,  yet  thou- 
sands of  the  smaller  classes  were  sometimes  used  by  the  modern  In- 
dians in  a  single  belt  of  wampum.  The  belt  delivered  by  the 
Sachems  of  the  Leni  Lenape  to  "William  Penn,  in  1682,  contained 
about  three  thousand.  One  of  the  historic  belts  of  the  Onandaguas 
contained  nearly  ten  thousand.  It  can  not  be  a  matter  of  surprise, 
therefore,  that  so  many  beads  are  sometimes  found  in  a  single  grave. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  the  female  figure  in  the  Sumner  county 
pictograph,  in  the  collection  of  the  Historical  Society  (Plate  II),  ap- 
pears to  be  holding  a  belt  in  her  hand,  probably  a  belt  of  wampum. 

Adair  informs  us  that  shell  beads  had  a  fixed  value  as  currency 
among  the  Cherokees  and  other  tribes  of  southern  Indians.* 

*  "Formerly,  four  deer-skins  was  the  price  of  a  large  conch  shell  bead  about  the 
length  and  thickness  of  a  man's  forefinger,  which  they  fixed  to  the  crown  of  their 
head  as  an  high  ornament,  so  greatly  they  valued  them."— History  of  the  American 
Indians,  page  170. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


319 


Beverly,  in  his  History  of  Virginia,  tells  us  that  the  Indians 
"had  nothing  which  they  reckoned  riches,  before  the  English  went 
among  them,  except  Peak,  Roenoke,  and  such  trifles,  made  out  of 
the  Cunk  Shell.  These  passed  with  them  instead  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  served  them  both  for  money  and  ornaments.  It  was  the  En- 
glish alone  that  taught  them  first  to  put  a  value  on  their  Skins  and 
Furs,  and  to  make  trade  of  them."     (Page  95.) 

Great  numbers  of  beads  of  shell  are  found  in  the  ancient  graves 
of  California  that  do  not  differ  from  the  wampum  or  shell  money 
used  by  the  modern  tribes  of  that  section.* 


Fig.  226. — Various  Types  op  Beads  (Two-thirds).! 


Various  forms  of  beads  are  represented  in  Fig.  226  (two-thirds 
actual  size).  All  are  of  shell,  excepting  the  little  string  made  of  the 
teeth  of  the  wolf,  or  of  some  wild  animal.;}: 

The  illustration  scarcely  does  justice  to  some  of  the  beautiful 
specimens  of  shell  beads  in  our  collection.  A  few  of  them  have 
not   lost   their  original   luster,  and  many  of  them   are   large   and 

*  Shell  beads  were  used  as  currency  by  the  Indians  of  the  Pacific  Coast.— Lewis 
and  Clark's  Expedition,  page  73. 

t  Author's  collection. 

t  We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Zach.  Patrick,  of  Eutherford  county,  for  this  rare 
string  of  ancient  beads. 


320 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


symmetrically  formed.     Hanging  together  in  strings,  they  present 
a  very  different  appearance  from  the  pictures  representing  them. 

We  have  not  discovered  any  beads  in  the  stone  graves  that 
we  can  with  certainty  identify  as  pearls,  although  many  of  them 
have  the  forms  of  pearls,  and  even  in  their  somewhat  decayed 
state  show  the  glistening  laniinee  of  pearly  shells,  but  the  laminae 
are  flat,  and  unlike  the  spherical  formation  of  the  pearl.  De 
Soto's  journalists,  and  other  writers,  reported  that  the  natives  pos- 
sessed great  numbers  of  pearls  and  necklaces  of  pearls.  Perhaps 
the  irridescent  shell  beads  were  mistaken  by  the  soldiers  of  De  Soto 


Fig.  227. — Terra  Cotta  Beads  from  the  Graves  (Two-thirds).* 

for  pearls.  The  shells  seem  more  enduring  than  the  delicate  pearls, 
and  probably  most  of  the  latter  have  dissolved  into  their  original 
lime,  and  disappeared.  Many  fine  pearls  are  found  in  the  mussel 
shells  of  the  southern  rivers.  They  do  not  usually  equal  the 
oriental  and  Pacific  coast  pearls,  but  some  of  them  are  large  and 
beautiful. 

We  have  a  hundred  or  more  river  pearls  in  our  collection  of 
gems — a  few  of  them  about  a  third  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  We  are 
very  familiar  with  their  forms  and  appearance,  yet,  we  repeat,  we 
have  not  found  them  in  the  graves,  either  perfect  or  as  beads,  and 


*  Author's  collection. 


COPPER,    BONE,    AND    SHELL    OBJECTS.  321 

we  think  some  of  the  pearls  reported  to  have  been  discovered  in 
the  graves  may  have  been  only  pearl-shaped  beads  of  shell. 

Many  of  the  forms  of  shell  beads  were  imitated  in  pottery,  as 
may  be  seen  in  Fig.  227.  Some  of  them  are  perforated ;  others  are 
grooved  in  the  middle  for  stringing.  We  describe  them  as  "  terra 
cotta  beads,"  as  they  are  made  of  the  finest  clay  paste  of  a  dark 
rich  color,  burned  almost  to  the  hardness  of  stone.  They  are  very 
symmetrical  in  form 

Fig.  228  represents  some  of  the  large  beads  or  bead-shaped  ob- 
jects of  stone  from  the  graves.  The  specimen  on  the  right  is  made 
of  brilliant  red  jasper. 

The   most  beautiful  stone  beads  we  have  observed  are  the  long, 


Fig.  228. — Large  Beads  or  Bead-shaped  Objects  of  Stone  (Three-fourths),* 

delicately-formed  tubular  beads  of  red  and  yellow  jasper,  found  in 
Mississippi.  The  forms  and  material  appear  to  be  a  specialty  of 
that  state.  They  are  fine  specimens  of  lapidary  work,  some  of  them 
being  two  or  three  inches  long.  The  perforations  in  the  hard  jasper 
are  as  exact  as  if  drilled  by  machinery.f 

The  Gorgets. — We  now  pass  to  the  consideration  of  another 
class  of  ornaments  of  shell — the  gorgets.  We  doubt  whether  any 
of  the  ancient  remains  found  within  the  mound  area  equal  some  of 
these  antiques  in  archaeological  interest,  unless  we  except  the  en- 
graved plates  of  gorgets  of  copper  from  Georgia  and  Illinois,  which 
are  of  somewhat  similar  character. 

*  Author's  collection. 

T  Prof.  R.  B.  Fulton,  of  the  University  of  Mississippi,  kindly  sent  us  a  number 
of  fine  specimens  from  his  collection,  for  examination. 

21 


322  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

The  vestiges  of  ancient  art,  by  wliieh  we  may  hope  to  trace  the 
state  of  civilization  or  semi-civilization  reached  by  the  mysterious 
race  named  for  convenience  "the  mound  builders,"  are  often  uncer- 
tain or  contradictory.  They  have  led  to  much  discussion  and 
widely  diverging  opinions.  The  evidences  are  very  conflicting. 
Here  and  there,  however,  archffiologists  have  been  able  to  discover  a 
few  quite  significant  traces  of  a  state  of  culture  above  the  plane  of 
ordinary  aboriginal  life  in  the  Mississippi  valley,  as  viewed  from  a 
historic  or  frontier  stand-point.  Some  of  the  gorgets  of  shell  from 
Tennessee  and  the  states  adjacent  belong  to  this  class  of  testimony. 
They  tell  a  much  more  exact  and  intelligible  story  of  the  state  of 
society  in  the  prehistoric  period  in  certain  sections  than  can  be  dis- 
covered from  the  pipes  and  pottery,  or  even  from  the  remarkable 
forms  of  the  great  earth- w^orks. 

The  early  discoverers  inform  us  that  gorgets  of  shell,  orna- 
mented with  various  devices,  were  worn  as  breast-plates  by  the 
natives  of  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts.  Lawson,  who  visited 
North  Carolina  in  1700,  states:  "They  (the  Indians)  oftentimes 
make  of  this  shell  (the  conch)  a  sort  of  gorge,  which  they  wear 
about  their  neck  in  a  string,  so  it  hangs  on  their  collar,  whereon 
is  sometimes  graven  a  cross,  or  some  old  sort  of  figure  which  comes 
next  in  their  fancy."  * 

Beverly,  writing  of  the  Indians  of  Virginia,  also  states  :  "  Of 
this  shell  they  also  make  round  tablets  of  about  four  inches  in  di- 
ameter, which  they  polish  as  smooth  as  the  other,  and  sometimes 
they  etch  or  grave  thereon  circles,  stars,  a  half-moon,  or  any  other 
figure  suitable  to  their  fancy."  f 

Gorgets  or  pendants  of  shell,  stone,  or  metal  are  among  the 
typical  ornaments  of  the  native  races  of  America.  They  were  worn 
by  the  tribes  of  California  and  of  the  pueblos.  They  appear  in  the 
Aztec  pictures  and  upon  the  Maya  tablets.  They  are  suspended 
from  necklaces,  and   are  to  be  seen  upon  the  breasts  of  the  mytho- 

*  History  of  Carolina  (Raleigh),  1850,  page  315. 
t  History  ot  Virginia  (Loudon),  1705,  page  58. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


'323 


logical  and  historic  figures.  They  will  also  be  noticed  upon  the 
figures  of  the  Sumner  county  pictograph.  We  might  well  expect, 
therefore,  to  find  them  in  exploring  the  ancient  graves  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley.  Many  of  the  types  from  the  graves  are  not  unlike 
the  gorgets  worn  within  the  historic  period. 

Some  of  them  are  entirely  plain ;  others  are  etched  with 
various  simple  devices ;  but  a  few  have  been  found  that  are  among 
the  finest  specimens  of  aboriginal  art  in  engraving,  and  afibrd  in- 
formation of  unusual  interest  to  the  student  of  archaeology. 

Types  of  unengraved  shell  pendants  or  gorgets  from  the  cen- 
tral portion  of  the  state  are  shown  in  Fig.  229. 


1  2  3 

Fig.  229. — Shell  Gorgets  or  Breast  Ornaments,  Middle  Tennessee. 


Ko.  1,  the  plain,  simple  disk,  is  the  most  common  type  found  in 
the  graves  and  ancient  settlements.  We  have  a  number  of  these 
specimens,  ranging  from  the  size  of  a  discoidal  bead  to  four  inches 
in  diameter. 

N"os.  2  and  3  (Johnson  collection)  are  unusual  and  beautiful 
types,  recently  found  by  H.  L.  Johnson  in  a  rock  grave  under  a 
cliff  in  Jackson  county,  Tennessee.  There  were  about  forty  concli 
shell  beads  in  the  same  grave.  The  unique  little  ring  pendant  or 
symbol  is  unfortunately  slightly  broken.  In  the  rim  there  are 
thirteen  segments  of  circles,  the  usual  number  of  divisions  or  scal- 
lops in  this  class  of  gorgets,  a  characteristic  evidently  of  some  sig- 
nificance, as  will  be  shown  hereafter.     The  large  square  gorget  is 


324  ANTIQUITIES    OP    TENNESSEE. 

unique.  It  must  have  been  worn  many  years,  and  perhaps  during 
more  than  one  generation,  as  deep  furrows  have  been  worn  by  the 
strings  in  the  hard  shell  above  the  original  holes  drilled  for  its  sus- 
pension. 

These  unengraved  pendants  may  have  been  mere  ornaments,  or 
they  may  have  had  some  significance  as  symbols  or  amulets.  Possi- 
bly, some  of  them  were  painted  with  totemic  devices.  We  pre- 
sume, however,  the  beautiful  colors  of  the  natural  shells,  and  their 
varied  forms,  were  their  chief  attractions. 

The  engraved  gorgets  are  of  much  greater  importance.  It 
seems  singular  that  the  advanced  tribes  once  occupying  the  central 
portion  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  whose  remains  show  many  ev- 
idences of  a  very  interesting  although  limited  culture,  should  have 
left  no  architectural  monuments  of  stone,  or  inscriptions  or  writings 
in  pottery  or  stone,  on  the  plane  of  their  highest  development. 
Some  of  their  shell  and  copper  plates,  however,  and  a  few  inscribed 
tablets,  give  us  a  glimpse  of  their  better  state,  and  confirm  the 
other  evidences  of  their  culture.  They  establish  the  fact  that  it 
actually  existed  and  luas  of  a  very  interesting  character. 

The  most  familiar  type  of  the  engraved  gorgets  from  the  graves 
in  the  vicinity  of  Nashville  are  ornamented  with  circles  or  circular 
devices.  One  of  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  specimens  of  this 
type  (Fig,  230)  was  found  by  Dr.  Joseph  Jones  in  the  large  mound 
on  the  bank  of  the  Cumberland  opposite  Nashville,* 

"We  quote  Dr.  Jones's  description  of  this  fine  gorget  and  of  its 
discovery  :  "  In  a  carefully  constructed  stone  sarcophagus,  in  which 
the  face  of  the  skeleton  was  looking  toward  the  setting  sun,  a  beau- 
tiful shell  ornament  was  found  resting  upon  the  breast-bone  of  the 
skeleton.  This  shell  ornament  is  four  and  four-tenths  inches  in  di- 
ameter, and  it  is  ornamented  on  its  concave  surface  with  a  small 
circle  in  the  center,  and  four  concentric  bands,  diflPerently  figured, 
in  relief.     The  first  band  is  filled  by  a  simple  volute ;  the  second  is 

*  We  are  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  Prof.  Langley,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, for  this  illustration  from  Dr.  Jones's  work,  page  43. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


325 


plain ;  whilQ  the  third  is  dotted  and  has  nine  small  bosses  carved  at 
unequal  distances  upon  it.  The  outer  band  is  made  up  of  fourteen 
small  elliptical  bosses,  the  outer  edges  of  which  give  to  the  object  a 
scalloped  rim.  This  ornament,  on  its  concave  figured  surface,  has 
been  covered  with  red  paint,  much  of  which  was  still  visible.  The 
convex  smooth  surface  is  highly  polished  and  plain,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  three  concentric  marks.  This  ornament,  when  found,  lay 
upon  the  breast-bone  with  the  concave  surface  uppermost,  as  if  it 
had  been  worn  in  this  position,  suspended  around  the  neck,  as  the 
two  holes  for  the  thong  or  string  were  in  that  portion  of  the  border 


Fig.  230. — Engraved  Shell  Gorget,  Nashville  Type  (One-half). 

which  pointed  directly  to  the  chin  or  central  portion  of  the  lower 
jaw  of  the  skeleton.  The  marks  of  the  thong  by  which  it  was  sus- 
pended are  manifest  upon  both  the  anterior  and  posterior  surfaces, 
and,  in  addition  to  this,  the  paint  is  worn  oft"  from  the  circular 
space  bounded  below  by  the  two  holes."  * 

Since  Dr.  Jones's  discovery,  many  fine  shell  gorgets  of  the  ro- 
sette or  scalloped-disc  design  have  been  obtained  from  the  stone 
graves  in  the  vicinity  of  Nashville.  Prof  Powell,  of  the  Bureau 
of  Ethnology,  discovered  one  of  the  same  size  in  a  stone  grave  on 
the  Bowling  farm,  west  of  Nashville,  and  there  are  several  in  the 


■•■■■  Aboriginal  Remains  of  Tennessee,  pages  42,  43. 


326  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

Peabody  Museum  and  in  the  collection  of  the  Tennessee  Historical 
Society. 

We  have  obtained  a  number  of  good  specimens  of  the  same 
type  from  the  burial  ground  upon  the  Noel  farm,  one  of  them  for- 
tunately as  firm  and  durable  as  when  it  was  made. 

In  the  same  cemetery  we  found  a  large  shell  disc  of  this  pat- 
tern, with  two  sets  of  holes  on  opposite  sides,  above  the  center,  ar- 
ranged to  hold  it  in  place  on  the  breast  more  conveniently  and 
steadily. 

The  circles  or  sun  symbols  engraved  upon  these  gorgets  evi- 
dently had  some  special  significance  in  the  mythology,  religion,  or 
customs  of  the  ancient  people  of  the  Cumberland  valley.  Upon  no 
other  theory  can  we  explain  their  strict  adherence  to  the  details  of 
these  peculiar  designs.  If  intended  for  mere  ornamentation,  the 
forms  would  have  been  varied  to  suit  the  fancy  of  the  engraver,  as 
were  the  forms  and  ornaments  of  the  pipes.  The  circles  on  the  rim 
nearly  always  number  thirteen,  and  are  of  uniform  size.  Occasion- 
ally one  is  found  hke  Fig.  230  with  fourteen  circles.  The  discs  vary 
in  diameter  from  three  to  four  or  more  inches,  but  the  designs  are 
not  materially  changed.  Their  uniformity  is  very  remarkable. 
Similar  circles  or  sun  symbols  will  be  observed  upon  the  skirts  of 
the  dresses  of  the  two  chiefs  and  on  the  banners  in  the  Sumner 
county  pictograph.  Father  Membre  tells  us  they  were  painted 
upon  the  dresses  of  the  natives  of  the  Red  River  country  when  he 
visited  them,  in  1681.     He  also  states  that  they  worshiped  the  sun.* 

The  Natchez,  and  other  tribes,  were  also  sun-worshipers.  It 
therefore  seems  probable  that  these  symbols — the  circles  and  stars 
upon  the  ancient  discs  of  shell,  and  the  crescent  forms  of  some  of 
the  stone  implements — were  in  some  way  connected  with  the  relig- 
ious rites  of  their  predecessors.  They  may  have  marked  the  period 
of  time  or  the  numbers  of  sacred  observances. 

Another  type  of  the  shell  gorgets  found  in  Middle  Tennessee, 
is  illustrated  in  Fig.  231. 

*  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi  (Shea),  pages  217,  228. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


327 


This  beautiful  specimen  was  obtained  by  Mr.  D.  G.  Charles  in 
a  grave  in  the  ancient  burial  mound  on  Buifalo  creek,  m  Wayne 
county  (Middle  Tennessee),  one  of  the  southern  counties  of  the 
state.  The  copper  ornaments,  or  trappings,  supposed  to  be  relics  of 
De  Soto's  campaign,  were  reported  to  have  been  found  in  the  same 
grave.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  history  of  the  relics  of  cop- 
per, there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  antiquity  or  genuineness  of  this 
interesting   shell   disc,  or  of  the  other  shell    and  pottery  remains 


Fig.  231. — Shell  Gorget,  Wayne  County  (Actual  Size).* 

found  with  it.  Its  time-honored  appearance,  its  still  polished  sur- 
face, and  the  spirited  figures  so  skillfully  engraved  upon  it,  tell  a 
story  that  no  archaeologist  or  collector  can  mistake.  It  belongs  to 
a  well  known  type,  occasionally  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Nashville. 
One  of  the  largest  and  finest  gorgets  upon  which  this  design  was 
engraved  is  from  Mississippi,  and  is  in  the  National  Museum,  at 
Washington.     It  is  well  illustrated  in  Mr.  Holmes's  work  upon  shell 


Author's  collection. 


328  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

remains.  The  engraving  upon  the  Mississippi  shell  and  Fig,  231 
are  almost  identical.  The  latter,  although  smaller,  is  even  more 
skillfully  executed.  Its  genuineness  may  well  be  vindicated  in  the 
fact  that  we  have  had  no  little  difficulty  in  finding  an  artist  able  to 
represent  correctly  the  exactness  and  beauty  of  the  original  en- 
graving. 

Conceding  that  the  marks  of  antiquity  upon  the  shell  might 
possibly  be  produced  or  imitated,  no  one  but  a  master  could  coun- 
terfeit the  skillfully  engraved  designs  upon  it. 

Several  gorgets  of  shell,  with  similar  but  generally  more  rudely 
executed  figures,  have  been  discovered  in  the  vicinity  of  ISTashville, 
and  in  the  neighboring  counties.  The  four  bird  heads  with  long 
sharp  mandibles  and  tufted  crowns,  the  four-sided  figures  with  the 
straight  regular  lines,  and  endless  scroll,  and  circle  corners,  ohoays 
appear  upon  the  concave  side  of  the  disc,  showing  that,  whether  rudely 
or  elaborately  executed,  the  exact  symbols  are  represented,  thus  con- 
firming their  use  as  family  or  tribal  insignia.  We  recently  re- 
ceived a  fine  specimen  with  this  design  upon  it,  about  three  and 
one-fourth  inches  in  diameter — now  on  the  desk  before  us.  It  is 
discolored  and  incrusted  with  brown  patina,  a  sure  indication  of 
ffreat  age,  but  the  incised  lines  of  its  fine  engraving  are  still  visi- 
ble. The  latter  is, nearly  a  duplicate  of  the  design  illustrated.  Its 
central  figure  has  but  eight  points  or  angles,  and  the  shell  is  not 
perforated  in  the  center.  It  was  found  in  a  stone  grave  in  Smith 
county,  near  Dixon  Springs.* 

The  other  specimens  discovered  have  been  described  by  Prof. 
Putnam  and  Mr.  Holmes. 

It  IS  probable  that  the  tribe  or  clan  of  the  Stone  Grave  race 
that  wore  this  ancient  emblem  or  totem  as  a  breastplate  or  orna- 
ment at  one  time  occupied  the  territory  extending  from  the  Cum- 
berland river,  above  Nashville,  into  the  State  of  Mississippi,  as  all 
of  these  gorgets  were  discovered  within  these  limits. 

Birds  were  connected  with  many  of  the  myths  and  poetic  fan- 

*  Mr.  W.  W.  Ferguson,  of  Smith  county,  kindly  sent  it  for  examination. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


329 


cies  of  the  modern  tribes.     They  were  among  the  family  totems  of 
the  Chickasaws,  the  Creeks,  and  the  Cherokees.* 

The  eagle,  the  turkey,  the  crane,  and  the  heron  were  totems. 
Perhaps  the  crested  heron  may  have  been  the  typical  bird  repre- 
sented, or  possibly  the  more  humble  woodpecker  furnished  the 
model.  The  four  incised  lines,  and  the  endless  ornamental  scroll, 
were  favorite  designs  of  the  old  pottery  makers,  and  will  be  ob- 
served upon  the  vessels  illustrated  in  Fig.  50  and  Plate  VIII. 


Fig.  232. — Gorget,  with  Symbol  of  the  Cross  (Three-fourths). t 

Mr.  Holmes  introduces  an  illustration  of  a  quite  similar  four- 
sided  scroll  figure   copied  from  an  ancient  Aztec  picture.  | 

The  central  figure  in  the  disc  (Fig.  231),  representing  the  sun, 
has  tvv^elve  points,  the  saiiie  number  engraved  upon  the  fine  Missis- 
sippi gorget — representing  perhaps  the  twelve  lunar  periods. 

The  little  cross  in  the  center  of  the  disc  is  a  symbol  frequently 
found,  in  some  form,  upon  the  engraved  gorgets. 

A  better  example  of  this  symbol  will  be  found  upon  the  gorget 
illustrated  in  Fig.  232. 


*  Ancient  Society  (Morgan),  pages  161,  163,  164. 

t  Buchanan  collection. 

X  Second  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ftlinolofiy,  Plate  LIX. 


330  ANTIQUITIES    OF   TENNESSEE. 

It  was  recently  discovered  by  Mr.  W.  D.  Buchanan,  of  Nash- 
ville, in  a  stone  grave  of  the  ancient  cemetery  on  Judge  W.  F. 
Cooper's  farm,  a  few  miles  east  of  !N'ashville,  on  the  bank  of  the 
Cumberland  river.  The  shell  is  discolored,  incrusted,  and  mottled 
with  age,  but  the  figure  of  the  cross  is  cut  through  it,  as  precisely, 
and  with  as  sharp  and  straight  edges,  as  if  the  work  were  executed 
by  a  skilled  mechanic  with  metallic  tools. 

A  large  thin  gorget  of  copper,  with  a  marginal  band  and  a 
symmetrical  cross  cut  through  its  center,  of  the  exact  form  of  this 
cross  of  shell,  was  discovered  in  one  of  the  Ohio  mounds,  and  is 
now  in  the  Museum  of  Natural  History,  at  New  York.  Mr.  Holmes 
gives  a  fine  illustration  of  it.  The  two  gorgets  from  these  two 
mound  sections,  ornamented  with  designs  so  similar  and  peculiar, 
are  very  suggestive.  There  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  antiquity 
of  the  Buchanan  gorget.  It  is  probably  of  purely  aboriginal  origin. 
We  assisted  in  .exploring  the  extensive  burial  grounds  in  which  it 
was  found.  Nothing  was  discovered  indicating  contact  with  the 
whites,  or  early  Europeans,  unless  this  device  of  the  cross  can  be 
considered  as  evidence  of  this  fact. 

Cross-shaped  figures  or  ornaments  have  frequently  been  dis- 
covered among  ancient  remains  in  America.  In  considering  this 
subject,  Mr.  Holmes  ofiPers  the  following  interesting  reflections: 
"  The  discoverers  and  early  explorers  of  the  New  World  were  filled 
witli  surprise  when  they  beheld  their  own  sacred  emblem,  the  cross, 
mingling  with  the  pagan  devices  of  the  western  barbarian.  Writers 
have  speculated  in  vain;  the  mystery  yet  remains  unsolved.  At- 
tempts to  connect  the  use  of  the  cross  by  prehistoric  Americans 
with  its  use  in  the  East  have  signally  failed,  and  we  are  compelled 
to  look  on  its  occurrence  here  as  one  of  those  strange  coincidences 
so  often  found  in  the  practices  of  people  totally  foreign  to  each 
other.  If  written  history  does  not  establish  beyond  a  doubt  that 
the  cross  had  a  place  in  our  aboriginal  symbolism,  we  have  but  to 
turn  to  the  pages  of  the  archaeological  record,  where  we  find  that 
it  occupies  a  place  in  ancient  American  art  so  intimately  inter- 
woven with  conceptions  peculiar  to  the   continent  that  it  can  not 


COPPER,    BONE,    AND    SHELL    OBJECTS.  331 

be  separated  from  them.  It  is  found  associated  with  other  pre- 
historic remains  throughout  nearly  the  entire  length  and  breadth  of 
America."  * 

Another  device  engraved  upon  the  shell  gorgets  found  in  the 
ancient  graves  and  mounds  of  Tennessee  is  the  serpent.  The  discs 
with  this  design  appear  to  have  been  mainly  used  by  the  tribe  or 
tribes  that  occupied  the  valleys  of  East  Tennessee,  as  nearly  all  of 
them  have  been  found  in  that  section. 

The  serpent  was  an  important  figure  or  symbol  in  the  my- 
thology of  the  native  races  of  America,  and  was  associated  with 
many  of  their  religious  rites.  The  most  remarkable  effigy  mound 
constructed  by  the  mound  builders  of  Ohio  was  fashioned  in  its 
form.  It  was  connected  with  the  sacred  ceremonies  of  the  Mexican 
and  Central  Americans.  The  rattlesnake  was  a  totem  or  symbol 
of  the  Moqui  and  Laguna  Indians  of  the  pueblos, f  and  was  promi- 
nent in  the  religious  ceremonies  of  the  Zunis.  The  snake  was  also 
a  totem  of  the  Shawnees,  and  of  a  number  of  the  northern  tribes. J 
It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  it  was  selected  by  one  of  the 
tribes  of  mound  builders  of  Tennessee  as  the  emblem  to  be  engraved 
upon  its  breastplates  of  shell.  Thirty  or  forty  of  these  elaborately- 
carved  gorgets  have  been  discovered  in  the  ancient  mounds  along 
the  upper  valleys  of  the  Tennessee  river — many  of  them  four  or 
five  inches  in  diameter. 

Fig,  233  represents  a  typical  specimen  obtained  from  the  great 
mound  at  Sevierville,  Tennessee. || 

The  serpent  is  engraved  upon  the  concave  side  of  the  shell  disc, 
cut  from  the  Busycon.  The  holes  for  suspension  will  be  observed. 
The  head  with  the  large  eye,  and  widely-opened  mouth,  and  the  scaly 
coil   are  carved  with   considerable  spirit.     The  tail  and  rattles  are 

*  Second  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  page  28. 

T  Ancient  Society  (Morgan),  pages  179,  180. 

t  Ancient  Society  (Morgan),  page  168. 

II  The  illustration  is  from  Mr.  Holmes's  article  in  the  Second  Annual  Report  of 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Plate  LXII.  We  are  indebted  to  Major  J.  W.  Powell  for 
electrotypes  of  a  number  of  the  shell  gorgets  illustrated  in  this  chapter. 


332 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


behind  the  head.  The  uniformity  of  these  peculiar  designs,  almost 
invariably  engraved  upon  the  concave  surface  of  the  shell,  is  remark- 
able. All  of  them  have  the  same  general  form,  although  none  of 
them  are  quite  alike  in  details. 

The  central  head,  the  coiled  body  with  its  complicated  and  ob- 
scure involutions,  the  scaly  surface,  and  the  marginal  band,  are  con- 
stantly repeated  in  the  general  design.  Sometimes  the  strange  coiled 
figures  can  scarcely  be  recognized,  yet,  upon   patient  examination, 


Fig.  233.— Rattlesnake  Gorget,  McMahon  Mound,  Tennessee  (Actual  Size). 


the  mythological  serpent  is  always  found  to  be  represented.  The 
main  features  of  this  mysterious  design  must  have  been  regarded  as 
of  great  significance  by  the  tribe  or  branch  of  the  Indian  family 
that  wore  these  elaborate  breastplates. 

Outline  engravings  of  two  other  familiar  types  of  these  mys- 
terious designs  (Figs.  234  and  235)  are  introduced  to  show  their  re- 
markable character.  The  long  diameter  of  Fig.  234— nearly  six 
inches, — will  give  a  correct  impression  of  the  general  dimensions  of 
these  large  gorgets.  The  examples  presented  are  not  exceptional. 
Nearly  all  of  them  are  equally  well  carved,  and  represent  the  same 
strange  symbolism  of  the  mythology  or  religion  of  the  native  races. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


333 


The  central  head  and  eye,  the  open  month,  the  coiled  body,  tail,  and 
rattles,  will  be  observed  upon  close  examination. 

In  the  collection  of  the  Tennessee  Historical  Society,  at  Nash- 


FiGS.  234  AND  235. — Rattlesnake  Gorgets,  East  TiiNSEssEE. 

ville,  there  is  a  fine  specimen,  nearly  six  inches  in  diameter,  of  the 
type  represented  by  Fig.  234.  It  is  from  one  of  the  Harpeth  ceme- 
teries, south  of  Nashville. 


Fig.  236.— Engraved  Stone  Disc,  Carthage    Alabama  (One-sixth).® 

In  his  work  upon  Art  in  Shell  of  the  Ancient  Americans,  Mr. 
Holmes,  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  presents  an  illustration  of  a 

*  jSIational  Museum. 


334  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

stone  disc  in  the  ITational  Museum,  from  Carthage,  Alabama,  upon 
which  remarkable  serpent  figures  are  engraved  (Fig.  236). 

Regarding  this  interesting  stone,  Mr.  Holmes  states  :  "  I  have 
seen  in  the  National  Museum  a  curious  specimen  of  stone  disk, 
which  should  be  mentioned  in  this  place,  although  there  is  not  suf- 
ficient assurance  of  its  genuineness  to  allow  it  undisputed  claim  to  a 
place  among  antiquities.  It  is  a  perfectly  circular,  neatly  dressed 
sandstone  dis^i,  twelve  inches  in  diameter  and  one-half  an  inch  in 
thickness.  Upon  one  face,  we  see  three  marginal  incised  lines, 
while  on  the  other  there  is  a  well  engraved  design,  which  represents 
two  entwined,  or  rather  knotted,  rattlesnakes ;  within  the  circular 
space  enclosed  by  the  bodies  of  the  serpents  is  a  well  drawn  hand, 
in  the  palm  of  which  is  placed  an  open  eye.  This  would  probably 
have  been  omitted  by  the  artist,  had  he  fully  appreciated  the  skepti- 
cal tendencies  of  the  modern  arclipeologist.  The  margin  of  the 
plate  is  divided  into  seventeen  sections  by  small  semi-circular  in- 
dentations. This  object  is  said  to  have  been  obtained  from  a  mound 
near  Carthage,  Alabama."  * 

Mr.  Holmes  reports  that  "  a  similar  specimen,  from  a  mound 
near  Lake  Washington,  Mississippi,  is  described  by  Mr.  Ander- 
son." t 

We  are  inclined  to  regard  this  engraved  disc  as  a  genuine  an- 
tique. The  typical  form  of  the  stone ;  its  discovery  at  Carthage, 
Alabama,  the  center  of  an  advanced  mound  settlement;  the  coiled 
serpent  figures ;  the  angles  or  points  behind  the  eyes,  which  occur 
upon  the  ancient  stone  and  pottery  figures  from  that  section  (see 
Figs.  62  and  84) ;  the  similarity  of  the  open  hand  to  the  open  hand 
figures  upon  the  vessels  of  pottery  from  Tennessee  and  Alabama 
(Fig.  40) — all  seem  to  offer  testimony  confirming  the  genuineness 
of  this  relic.  More  of  these  plates  or  discs  have  been  discovered  in 
Alabama  than  in  any  other  section.  The  two  vessels  of  pottery 
decorated  with  the  figures  of  an  open  hand,  in  general   appearance 

*  Second  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  page  278. 
t  Cincinnati  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science,  October,  1875. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


335 


not  unlike  the  liand  engraved  upon  the  stone  disc,  have  been  re- 
ported or  discovered  since  the  puhHcation  of  Mr.  Hohiies's  article. 

The  art  in  the  engraving  is  of  a  high  character,  but  the  latter 
is  not  more  skillfully  executed  than  the  designs  upon  the  highest 
type  shell  gorgets  and  the  copper  plates,  illustrated  in  this  chapter. 

The  beautiful  shell  gorget  engraved  with  the  figure  of  a  spider 
(Fig.  237)  was  obtained  from  a  mound  on  Fain's  island,  Tennessee. 
It  is  an  unusual  type.     Specimens  upon  which  this  curious  figure  is 


Fig.  237. — Shell  Gorget — the  Spider  Design,  Fain's  Island,  Tennessee  (Actual 

Size). 

more  naturally  and  elaborately  represented  have  been  discovered 
in  the  mounds  at  New  Madrid,  Missouri,  and  near  East  St.  Louis, 
in  Illinois.* 

The  symbol  or  figure  of  a  cross  is  usually  represented  upon  the 
back  of  the  spider,  and  the  carvings  are  most  skillfully  executed. 
The  remarkable  uniformity  of  design  is  also  a  characteristic  of 
these  "spider  gorgets."     It  seems  strange  that  they  should  be  dis- 


*  The  illustration  is  from  the  Second  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnol- 
ogy, Plate  LXl. 


336  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

covered  in  mound  districts  so  widely  separated  as  East  Tennessee, 
Western  Illinois,  and  Missouri;  yet  we  have  already  learned  that 
both  of  these  sections  were  once  probably  occupied  by  the  tribes  or 
kindred  of  the  Stone  Grave  race  of  Tennessee.  Further  evidences 
of  the  similarity  of  the  ancient  arts  in  these  distant  sections  will  be 
presented  hereafter. 

We  now  come  to  the  consideration  of  a  series  of  ancient  gor- 
gets of  shell,  engraved  with  designs  representing  the  human  form. 
These  antiques  we  regard  as  of  very  great  archaeological  interest,  as 
some  of  them  probably  mark  the  most  advanced  stages  of  art  and 
development  reached  by  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  America  north 
of  Mexico,  and  furnish  information  of  a  very  definite  and  important 
character,  as  to  the  appearance,  dress,  and  manners  of  the  interest- 
ing race  of  mound  builders,  at  the  period  when  they  were  probably 
at  the  height  of  their  power. 

A  number  of  these  shell  breast-plates,  carved  from  the  Busy- 
con,  representing  the  human  face,  have  been  discovered  in  the 
mounds  of  Tennessee,  Virginia,  and  adjacent  sections,  but  they  are 
usually  crude  and  of  little  value  to  the  archaeologist. 

The  figures  engraved  with  the  human  form  are  also  sometimes 
80  peculiar  and  obscure  that  the  devices  upon  them  can  scarcely  be 
recognized,  and  are  of  interest  chiefly  as  examples  of  mysterious 
symbolism. 

Two  of  these  specimens,  from  the  ancient  mounds  of  East 
Tennessee,  are  illustrated  in  outlines  in  Figs.  238  and  239. 

The  gorget  from  the  McMahon  mound,  when  discovered,  was 
lying  upon  the  breast  of  the  skeleton. 

The  strange  coils  and  folds,  engraved  in  incised  lines  upon  the 
serpent  discs,  are  not  more  complicated  and  mysterious  than  these 
designs.  A  casual  inspection  reveals  little  but  a  confused  mass  of 
involutions,  but,  upon  patient  observation,  the  heads,  the  bodies, 
arms,  hands,  legs,  and  feet  will  be  discovered.  More  elaborate  il- 
lustrations of  these  engraved  breastplates  may  be  found  in  Mr. 
Holmes's  monograph,  but  the  figures  are  as  obscure  as  in  the  out- 
line sketches.     The  strange  designs  upon  the  three  well-carved  tab- 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


337 


lets  of  stone  found  in  Ohio — the  Cincinnati,  Wilmington,  and 
Waverlj  tablets — probably  belong  to  the  same  class  of  mysterious 
symbols  or  totemic  designs. 

A  portion  of  the  most  remarkable  engraved  gorget  of  shell  yet 
discovered  in  Tennessee  is  shown  in  Plate  XVI.  As  the  illustration 
is  from  Mr.  Holmes's  work,  we  quote  his  interesting  description  of 
it:  "Among  the  multitude  of  works  of  art  collected  within  the  last 
decade,  very  few  will  be  found  to  surpass  in  interest  the  fragment  of 
a  shell   gorget  from  the  McMahon  mound,  at  Sevierville,  Tennes- 


FiG.  238.— Shkll  Gorget,  McMahon's 
Mound,  Sevierville  (One-half).* 


Fig.  239. — Shell  Gorget,  Lick  Creek 
Mound,  Meigs  Co.  (One-half ).t 


see.  The  disk,  when  entire,  has  been  nearly  five  inches  in  diameter. 
A  little  more  than  one-third  had  crumbled  away,  and  the  remaining 
portion  was  only  preserved  by  the  most  careful  handling,  and  by 
immediate  immersion  in  a  thin  solution  of  glue.  This  specimen  is 
the  first  of  the  kind  ever  brought  to  light  in  this  country,  and  must 
certainly  be  regarded  as  the  highest  example  of  aboriginal  art  ever 
found  north  of  Mexico.     The  design,  as  in  the  other  cases,  has  been 

*  National  Museum. 
t  Peabody  Museum. 

22 


338  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

engraved  on  the  convex  surface  of  a  polished  shell  disk,  and  repre- 
sents two  human  figures,  plumed,  and  winged,  and  armed  with 
eagles'  talons,  engaged  in  mortal  combat.  As  in  the  last  specimen 
described,  this  has,  at  first  sight,  an  exotic  look,  bearing  certainly, 
in  its  conception,  a  general  resemblance  to  the  marvelous  bas-reliefs 
of  Mexico  and  Central  America;  but  the  resemblance  goes  no 
further,  and  we  are  at  liberty  to  consider  it  a  norther?!,  work  sui 
generis.  The  design  has  apparently  covered  the  entire  tablet,  leav- 
ing no  space  for  encircling  lines.  The  two  figures  are  in  profile,  and 
face  each  other  in  a  fierce  onset.  Of  the  right-hand  figure  only  the 
body,  one  arm,  and  one  leg  remain.  The  left-hand  figure  is  almost 
complete;  the  outline  of  the  face,  one  arm,  and  one  foot  being  ob- 
literated. The  right  hand  is  raised  above  the  head  in  the  act  of 
brandishing  a  long  double-pointed  knife.  At  the  same  time,  this 
doughty  warrior  seems  to  be  receiving  a  blow  in  the  face  from  the 
right  hand  of  the  other  combatant,  in  which  is  clutched  a  savage- 
looking  blade,  with  a  curved  point.  The  hands  are  vigorously 
drawn,  the  joints  are  correctly  placed,  and  the  thumb  presses  down 
upon  the  outside  of  the  forefinger,  in  its  natural  eftbrt  to  tighten 
and  secure  the  grasp.  Two  bands  encircle  the  wrists,  and  probably 
represent  bracelets.  The  arms  and  shoulders  are  plain.  The  head 
is  decorated  with  a  single  plume,  which  springs  from  a  circular  or- 
nament placed  over  the  ear;  an  angular  figure  extends  forward  from 
the  base  of  this  plume,  and  probably  represents  what  is  left  of  the 
head-dress  proper ;  forward  of  this,  on  the  very  edge  of  the  crum- 
bUng  shell,  is  one-half  of  the  lozenge-shaped  eye,  the  dot  intended 
to  represent  the  pupil  being  almost  obliterated.  It  is  certainly  a 
great  misfortune  that  both  faces  are  completely  gone ;  their  exact 
character  must  remain  conjectural.  A  neat  pendant  ornament  is 
suspended  upon  the  well-formed  breast,  and  a  broad  belt  encircles 
the  waist,  beneath  which,  covering  the  abdomen,  is  a  design  that 
suggests  the  scales  of  a  coat  of  mail.  The  legs  are  well  defined  and 
perfectly  proportioned ;  the  left  knee  is  bent  forward,  and  the  foot 
is  planted  firmly  on  the  ground,  while  the  right  is  thrown  grace- 
fully back  against  the  rim  at  the  left.     Double  belts  encircle  the 


^ 


COPPER,    BONE,    AND    SHELL    OBJECTS.  339 

knees  and  ankles.  The  legs  terminate  in  wonderfully  well-drawn 
eagle's  feet,  armed  with  vigorously-curved  talons.  A  very  interest- 
ing feature  of  the  design  is  the  highly  conventionalized  wing,  which 
is  attached  to  the  shoulder  behind,  and  fills  the  space  beneath  the 
uplifted  arm.  A  broad,  many-featured  tail  is  spread  out  like  a  fan 
behind  the  legs.  The  right-hand  figure,  so  far  as  seen,  is  an  exact 
duplicate  of  the  left.  A  design  of  undetermined  significance  occu- 
pies the  space  between  tlie  figures  beneath  the  crossed  arms;  it 
may  represent  conventionalized  drapery,  but  is  more  probably  sym- 
bolic in  its  character.  The  heads  have  been  probably  a  little  too 
large  for  good  proportion,  but  the  details  of  the  anatomy  are  ex- 
cellent. The  muscles  of  the  shoulder,  the  breast  and  nipple,  the 
waist,  the  buttock,  and  the  calves  of  the  legs,  are  in  excellent  draw- 
ing. The  whole  group  is  most  graphically  presented.  A  highly 
ideal  design,  it  is  made  to  fill  a  given  space  with  a  directness  of  ex- 
ecution and  a  unity  of  conception  that  is  truly  surprising."  * 

*  "As  to  the  two  specimens  from  Sevierville,  Tennessee  (Fig.  238  and  Plate 
XYI),  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  can  not  be  attached  to  them.  AVere  there  no  record 
whatever  of  the  time  or  place  of  discovery,  the  evidence  upon  the  faces  of  the  relics 
themselves  would  show  satisfactorily  that  they  are  genuine.  They  were  taken  from 
the  great  mound,  which  I  have  called  the  McMahon  mound,  at  Sevierville,  Tennes- 
see, This  mound  was  opened  in  1881  by  one  of  our  most  experienced  collectors, 
Dr.  E.  Palmer.  The  specimens,  when  found,  were  in  a  very  advanced  stage  of  de- 
cay, pitted,  discolored,  and  crumbling,  and  had  to  be  handled  with  the  utmost  care 
to  prevent  total  disintegration.  They  were  dried  by  the  collector,  immersed  in  a 
weak  solution  of  glue,  and  forwarded  immediately  to  the  National  Museum  at 
Washington.  In  this  mound  a  multitude  of  relics  Were  found,  a  large  number  be- 
ing shell,  many  of  which  are  figured  and  described  in  this  paper.  These  two  gor- 
gets, as  well  as  many  others  of  more  ordinary  types,  were  found  on  or  near  the 
breasts  of  skeletons,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  they  were  suspended  about  the 
necks  of  the  dead  just  as  they  had  been  worn  by  the  living.  By  accurately  ascer- 
taining the  authenticity  of  one  of  these  specimens,  we  establish,  so  far  as  need  be, 
the  genuineness  of  all  of  the  same  class.  If  one  is  genuine,  that  is  sufficient ;  the 
others  may  or  may  not  be  so,  without  seriously  affecting  the  questions  at  issue  ;  yet 
the  occurrence  of  duplicate  or  closely  related  specimens  in  widely  separated  locali- 
ties furnishes  confirmatory  evidence  of  no  little  importance." — W.  H.  Holmes,  in 
Second  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  page  303. 


340 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    TENNESSEE. 


The  weapon  brandished  in  the  right  hand,  as  has  been  sug- 
gested, very  nearly  resembles  the  large  double-pointed  chipped  flint 
implements  used  by  the  Stone  Grave  race.  Judging  from  the  width 
of  the  hand  holding  it,  it  seems  almost  a  duplicate  of  the  large  knife 
or  spear  in  the  writer's  collection,  illustrated  in  Plate  XI.  It  is 
greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  whole  of  this  remarkable  design  was 
not  preserved,  as  each  of  these  rare  discs   representing  the  human 


Fig.  240. — Engraved  Shell  Or  Gorget,  from  Etowah  Mound,  Georgia.* 

form  adds  something  to  our  knowledge  of  the  appearance  and  man- 
ners of  the  interesting  race  that  wore  them. 

Since  the  publication  of  Mr.  Holmes's  monograph,  a  few  other 
gorgets  representing  the  human  form  have  been  discovered  in  the 
ancient  mounds.  The  specimen  illustrated  in  Fig.  240  was  recently 
discovered  by  Mr.  Rogan,  one  of  the  assistants  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology,  in  exploring  the  smallest  of  the  three  large  mounds  of 
the  Etowah  group,  at  Cartersville,  Georgia. 


*  This  illustration  and  the  three  illustrations  following  have  been  reproduced 
from  the  fifth  annual  report  of  ]Major  Powell,  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECJS, 


341 


It  will  be  observed  that  it  resembles  the  design  of  the  lighting 
figures  engraved  upon  the  large  gorget  from  Tennessee,  in  a  few 
particulars.  The  necklace  and  pendant  of  the  same  fashion,  the 
small  square  or  circles  ornamenting  the  dress,  the  semi-circles  or 
wing  ornaments  at  the  side,  are  found  upon  both.  A  very  similar 
pendant  of  stone  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  203. 


Fig.  241.— Engraved  (torget,  Etowah  Mound,  Georgia. 


In  a  stone  grave  of  the  typical  Tennessee  form,  in  the  same 
Etowah  mound,  Mr.  Rogan  discovered  the  portion  of  an  engraved 
shell  gorget  represented  in  Fig.  241. 

Two  figures  appear  in  the  design,  one  evidently  representing  a 
victory  or  triumph  over  a  fallen  foe.  The  typical  necklace  and 
wristlets  of  large  beads  will  be  observed.  They  are  also  to  be  seen 
upon  the  legs.  The  usual  large  discs  or  ear  ornaments  illustrated 
in  the  chapters  upon  pottery,  stone,  and  copper  also  appear. 


342 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


Like  the  other  mounds  of  the  Etowah  group,  the  one  explored 
by  Mr.  Rogan  proved  to  be  a  rich  treasury  of  antiquities.  In  its 
stone  graves  were  also  found  a  number  of  copper  plates,  stamped  or 
marked  with  figures  of  a  very  remarkable  character.  Also,  several 
unique  and  skillfully  made  copper  ornaments  for  the  head  or  crown. 


Fig.  242. — Copper  Plate,  Etowah  Mound,  Georgia. 


Upon  the  two  largest  copper  plates  were  mythological  figures,  in 
desio-n  unlike  any  vestiges  of  ancient  art  yet  discovered  in  America. 
They  are  quite  similar,  difiering  only  in  subordinate  details.  One 
of  them  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  242. 

From  Mr.  Rogan's  field  notes  in  Prof.  Cyrus  Thomas's  interest- 


COPPEK,    BONE,    AND    SHELL    OBJECTS.  343 

ing  report  of  these  discoveries,*  we  make  the  following  extracts : 
"  Grave  A.  A  stone  sepulcher,  two  and  one-half  feet  wide,  eight 
feet  long,  and  two  deep,  formed  by  placing  steatite  slabs  on  edge  at 
the  sides  and  ends,  and  others  across  the  top.  The  bottom  con- 
sisted simply  of  earth  hardened  by  fire.  It  contained  the  remains 
of  a  single  skeleton,  lying  on  its  back,  with  head  east.  The  frame 
was  heavy,  and  about  seven  feet  long.  The  head  was  resting  on  a 
thin  copper  plate,  ornamented  with  stamped  figures ;  but  the  skull 
was  crushed  and  the  plate  injured  by  fallen  slabs.  Under  the  cop- 
per were  the  remains  of  a  skin  of  some  kind,  and  under  this,  coarse 
matting,  probably  of  split  cane.  The  skin  and  matting  were  both 
so  rotten  that  they  could  be  secured  only  in  fragments.  At  the  left 
of  the  feet  were  two  clay  vessels,  one  a  water  bottle  and  the  other  a 
very  small  vase.  On  the  right  of  the  feet  were  some  mussel  and  sea 
shells ;  and  immediately  under  the  feet,  two  conch  shells  (Busycon 
perversum),  partially  filled  with  small  shell  beads.  Around  each 
ankle  was  a  strand  of  similar  beads.  The  bones  and  most  of  the 
shells  were  so  far  decomposed  that  they  could  not  be  saved. 

"  Grave  B.  A  stone  sepulcher,  four  and  one-fourth  long,  two 
feet  wide,  and  one  and  one-half  feet  deep,  diflfering  from  "A"  only 
in  size,  and  the  fact  that  the  bottom  was  covered  with  stone  slabs. 
The  skeleton  was  extended  on  the  back,  head  east.  On  the  fore- 
head was  a  thin  plate  of  copper,  the  only  article  found. 

"  Grave  C.  A  stone  sepulcher,  three  and  one-half  feet  long, 
one  and  one-half  feet  wide,  and  one  and  one-half  deep ;  the  bottom 
being  formed  by  burnt  earth.  Although  extending  east  and  west, 
as  shown  in  the  figure,  the  bones  had  probably  been  interred  with- 
out regard  to  order,  and  disconnected,  the  head  being  found  in  the 
north-east  corner,  with  face  to  the  wall,  and  the  remaining  portion 
of  the  skeleton  in  a  promiscuous  heap.  There  was  no  indication  of 
disturbance  after  burial,  as  the  cofiin  was  intact.  Between  some  of 
the  bones  was  found  a  thin  plate  of  copper,  that  had  been  formed 

*  Fifth  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  page  98. 


344 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


by  uniting  and  riveting  together  small  sections.  Some  of  the  bones 
found  in  this  grave  were  saved." 

There  were  ten  graves  in  the  mound,  but  these  extracts  will 
show  the  general  character  of  the  rest. 

According  to  Mr.  Rogan's  measurements,  this  interesting  burial 
mound  was  a  truncated  cone  with  a  platform  top.  Its  dimensions 
w^ere  as  follows  :  "Average  diameter  at  the  base,  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet;  diameter  of  the  level  top,  sixty  feet ;  height  above  the 
original  surface  of  the  ground,  sixteen  feet." 


Fig.  343.— Copper  Plate,  Illinois  Mound.* 

The  copper  plate  illustrated  was  thirteen  inches  in  length  and 
nine  inches  wide.  We  observed  these  interesting  shell  gorgets,  cop- 
per plates,  and  ornaments,  in  the  National  Museum  at  Washington, 
but  were  unable  at  the  time  to  give  them  a  critical  examination. 

The  spirited  figures  upon  the  large  plates  at  once  suggest  that 
the  art  represented  is  of  Mexican  or  Central  American  origin ;  yet 
we  do  not  find  that  they  are  duplicated  in  the  ancient  codices  of 
Mexico,  or  upon  the  tablets  of  Central  America.  There  are 
glimpses  of  typical  Mexican  art  in  the  general  designs,  but  the  de- 
tails are  probably  original  artistic  conceptions,  that  should  be  cred- 


National  Museum. 


COPPER,    BONE,    AND    SHELL    OBJECTS.         .  345 

ited  to  the  advanced  race  that  constructed  the  great  mounds  of 
Georgia  and  the  Mississippi  valley. 

The  necklace  and  pendant,  the  ear-rings,  and  the  semi-circles 
upon  the  large  wings,  will  at  once  be  recognized  as  features  of  two 
of  the  fine  shell  gorgets. 

The  remarkable  figure  of  an  eagle  engraved  upon  a  thin  copper 
plate  (Fig.  243),  obtained  by  Major  J.  W.  Powell  from  an  ancient 
mound  near  Peoria,  Illinois,  oflers  a  good  illustration  of  the  ex- 
tended wings,  ornamented  with  the  typical  semi-circles  or  Indian 
characters,  symbolizing  the  clouds,  or  wind.  The  latter  are  some- 
times found  upon  the  rude  pictographs  of  the  modern  tribes. 
Another  engraved  copper  plate  of  the  same  character  was  found 
in  "an  ordinary  stone  grave"  in  Jackson  county,  Illinois.  Eagle 
claws  also  form  the  feet  of  the  mythological  figures  engraved  upon 
the  large  shell  gorget  from  Tennessee.* 

In  the  summer  of  1889,  we  had  the  pleasure  of  examining  the 
engraved  shell  gorget  from  New  Madrid  county,  Missouri,  illus- 
trated in  Plate  XVII. 

It  is  in  the  fine  private  collection  of  Mr.  A.  E.  Douglass 
at  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History  in  New  York  City. 
Mr.  Douglass  informs  us  that  he  obtained  it  from  a  reliable  party 
in  Missouri,  who  reported  that  "  it  was  taken  from  a  mound  in  New 
Madrid  county,  from  the  skull  of  a  skeleton  six  or  seven  feet  below 
the  surface  of  the  mound,  in  November,  1887."  "  Found  with  this 
object,"  he  states,  "•  and  now  in  my  cabinet,  are  about  one  hundred 
beads  of  shell,  which  are  occasionally  matted  together,  a  sure  proof 
of  great  antiquity,  a  human  tooth,  probably  from  the  skull  referred 
to,  with  a  jasper  pebble  and  other  debris." 

"  Of  its  authenticity,  I  repeat,  there  can  not  be  a  doubt, 
though  the  original  discoverer  has  apparently  rubbed  the  interior 
surface  to  dislodge  the  tenacious  brown  patina  (characteristic  of  long 

■■■•  Other  objects  of  copper  from  the  Etowah  mound  in  Georgia  and  from  Illinois, 
illustrating  and  confirming  some  of  the -specimens  illustrated,  will  be  found  in  the 
Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


346  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

inhumation)  and  display  the  engraving,  enough  remains  upon  the 
incisions  to  prove  that  they  are  ancient,  and  the  lines  are  full  of  it." 

Mr.  Douglass  is  an  archaeologist  of  high  character,  and  has  had 
many  years  of  experience  as  a  collector.  We  confirm  all  his 
statements  as  to  the  appearance  of  this  gorget.  It  bears  the  marks 
of  great  age.  It  would  seem  impossible  to  successfully  imitate  the 
incrustations  and  discolorations  upon  it,  or  to  invent  or  counterfeit 
the  details  of  the  remarkable  design  engraved  upon  it.  The  illus- 
tration w^as  drawn  from  a  photograph  kindly  presented  by  Mr. 
Douglass,  but  we  have  found  it  almost  impossible  to  do  full  justice 
to  the  good  art  exhibited  in  the  details  of  the  engraving  upon  this 
shell  disk. 

Many  features  analogous  to  the  figures  already  illustrated  will 
be  observed.  The  very  peculiar  pointed  skirt  or  appendage  hang- 
ing to  the  waist-belt,  appears  in  both  the  copper-plate  figures  from 
the  Etowah  mound,  which  had  not  been  published  in  1887,  when 
this  shell  gorget  was  discovered.  The  curious  complicated  head- 
dress and  long  hair  tie  also  suggest  the  Georgia  figures,  as  does  the 
long  implement  or  object  under  the  right  arm,  which  appears  to  be 
a  duplicate  of  the  object  held  in  the  right  hand  of  the  copper-plate 
figure.  The  fan-shaped  scarf  hanging  from  the  waist  appears  in 
several  of  these  designs.  The  ear-ring,  the  breast  ornament,  the 
large  beads  upon  the  wrists  and  legs,  the  half  circles  on  the  arms, 
the  lips,  all  suggest  analogies. 

Thje  grotesque  proboscis-nose  is,  however,  the  unique  and 
extraordinary  feature  of  this  design.  It  seems  next  to  impossible 
that  any  other  animal  or  object  than  an  elephant  or  an  ancient  pro- 
boscidian should  have  suggested  this  remarkable  nasal  appendage. 
It  calls  to  mind  the  grotesque  masks  in  the  Mexican  manuscripts, 
imitating  the  faces  and  features  of  animals,  but  we  have  searched 
through  Lord  Kimborough's  ponderous  volumes  illustrating  these 
codices,  without  finding  any  mask  exactly  duplicating  this  pro- 
boscis. 

iq'oses — long,  turned  up  and  down,  pointed,  curved,  and  twisted 


I 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


347 


are  numerous,  but  none  of  them  present  a  striking  resemblance  to 
the  peculiar  type  represented  in  the  Missouri  gorget. 

In  No.  6Q,  Codex  Borgianus,  Vol.  Ill,  there  is  a  grotesque  fig- 
ure presenting  a  somewhat  elphantine  appearance  (Fig.  244). 
It  represents  a  masked  priest  in  the  act  of  sacrificing  a  human 
victim.  Humboldt  copies  it  in  the  "  Veus  des  Cordilleres,"  with 
the  following  comment:  "I  should  not  have  had  this  hideous 
scene  engraved,  were  it  not  that  the  disguise  of  the  sacrificing 
priest  presents  some  remarkable  and  apparently  not  accidental  re- 
semblance to  the  Hindoo  Ganesa,  the  elephant-headed  god  of  wis- 


PiG.  244. — Grotesque  Picture  from  Ancient  Mexican  Manuscript. 


dom.     The  Mexicans  used  masks  imitating  the  shape  of  the  heads 
of  the  serpent,  the  crocodile,  or  the  jaguar. 

"  One  seems  to  recognize  in  the  sacrificer's  mask,  the  trunk  of 
an  elephant,  or  some  pachyderm  resembling  it  in  the  shape  of 
the  head,  but  with  an  upper  jaw  furnished  with  incisive  teeth.  The 
snout  of  the  tapir  no  doubt  protrudes  a  little  more  than  that 
of  our  pigs,  but  it  is  a  long  way  from  the  tapir's  snout  to  the 
trunk  figured  in  the  Codex  Borgianus.  Had  the  people  ot  Aztlan 
derived  from  Asia  some  vague  notion  of  the  elephant,  or,  as  seems 
to  me,  much  less  probable,  did  their  traditions  reach  back  to  the 
time  when  America  was  still  inhabited  by  these  gigantic  animals. 


348  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

whose  petrified  skeletons  are  found  buried  in  the  marly  ground  on 
the  very  ridge  of  the  Mexican  Cordilleras?  "  * 

Many  important  scientific  discoveries  have  been  made  connect- 
ing human  life  with  an  early  period  in  the  geologic  history  of  our 
western  continent  since  Humboldt  published  his  works,  and  the 
theory  that  primitive  man  was  a  contemporary  of  the  mammoth  in 
America  is  now  accepted  by  a  majority  of  the  scientists  who  have 
given  special  attention  to  this  subject. 

Father  Charlevoix,  whose  History  of  New  France  was  pub- 
lished in  1744,  records  a  North  American  legend  of  a  great  elk: 
"  There  is  current  also  among  these  barbarians  a  pleasant  enough 
tradition  of  a  great  Elk,  beside  whom  others  seem  like  ants.  He 
has,  they  say,  legs  so  high  that  eight  feet  of  snow  do  not  embarrass 
him ;  his  skin  is  proof  against  all  sorts  of  weapons,  and  he  has  a 
sort  of  arm  which  comes  out  of  his  shoulder,  and  which  he  uses  as 
we  do  ours."  f 

The  latter  expression  is  very  remarkable.  It  seems  difiicult  to 
account  for  such  a  tradition,  excepting  upon  the  hypothesis  that  it 
originally  sprung  from  the  sight  of  a  live  proboscidian. 

In  the  valuable  collection  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences, 
of  Davenport,  Iowa,  there  are  two  stone  pipes  carved  in  the  form 
of  an  elephant,  or  some  closely  allied  quadruped.  The  representa- 
tions are  unmistakable.  They  were  evidently  the  work  of  some 
person  or  persons  acquainted  with  the  general  form  of  the  gigantic 
animals  whose  remains  are  frequently  discovered  in  the  ancient  peat 
and  marl  beds  in  many  sections  of  North  Ameriea.J 

There  is  an  ancient  efligy  mound  in  Wisconsin  with  outlines 
shaped  somewhat  in  the  general  form  6f  a  mastodon  or  elephant.|l 

■■■■  Veus  des  Cordilleres,  Plate  XV  ;  Researches  into  the  Early  History  of  Man- 
kind (Dr.  E.  B.  Tylor),  page  313.  The  illustration  (Fig.  244)  has  been  reproduced 
from  Dr.  Tylor's  valuable  work. 

t  Charlevoix,  Vol.  V,  page  187.     Quoted  by  Dr.  Tylor. 

J  The  authenticity  of  these  pipes  has  been  questioned ;  but  we  have  carefully 
examined  the  facts  relating  to  the  discoveries,  and  we  find  no  good  reason  to  doubt 
their  genuineness. 

II  Concerning  the  peat  beds  of  Michigan,  Prof.  Winchell  states  that :     "  These 


COPPER,    BONE,    AND    SHELL    OBJECTS.  349 

Another  unique  shell  gorget  has  been  discovered  in  a  mound  in 
South-eastern  Missouri,  which  we  regard  as  of  sufficient  importance 
to  present  in  this  connection  to  enable  our  readers  to  have  the 
benefit  of  the  series  of  engraved  gorgets  for  comparison.*  It  is  il- 
trated  in  outlines  in  Fig.  245. f 

The  disc  is  about  four  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter.  The 
small  outline  sketch  scarcely  does  justice  to  tlie  details  of  the  orig- 
inal engraving.  The  design  differs  materially  from  the  figures  upon 
the  other  gorgets  and  the  copper  plates.  There  are  some  similar 
features,  however,  which  seem  to  verify  the  genuineness  of  them  all, 
yet  all  contain  original  and  different  characteristics,  which  are  alike 
useful  in  establishing  the  authenticity  of  these  interesting  antiques. 
The  pointed  skirt  or  apron,  with  the  rectangular  ornament,  appears 
upon  the  Georgia  plates  and  the  Douglass  disc.  The  fan-shaped 
scarf,  falling  beside  the  feet,  appears  in  some  form  upon  nearly  all 
of  them.  The  circular  ear-ring  is  always  present.  The  single  tat- 
too mark  across  the  face  brings  to  mind  the  similar  strong  lines 
across  the  face  of  the  large  marble  head  illustrated  in  Chapter  IV 
(Fig.  51). 

They  also  appear  upon  the  faces  represented  upon  some  of  the 
stone  pipes  of  the  mound  builders.     Regarding  this  fine  gorget,  Mr. 

beds  are  the  sites  of  ancient  lakelets,  slowly  filled  up  by  the  accumulation  of  sedi 
ment.  They  enclose  numerous  remains  of  the  mastodon  and  mammoth.  They  are 
sometimes  found  so  near  the  surface  that  one  could  believe  they  ha^'e  been  buried 
within  Jive  hundred  or  a  thousand  years." — Post  Tertiary  Phenomenon  of  Michigan: 
Recent  Origin  of  Man,  page  331 ;  Annual  of  Scientific  Discovery,  1871,  page  239. 

In  confirmation  of  these  views.  Dr.  C.  C.  Abbott  also  remarks:  "  It  is  unques- 
tionable that  many  of  the  remains  of  the  mastodon  found  in  New  Jersey  and  New 
York  are  far  more  recent  than  some  of  the  relics  of  man,  and  it  is  simply  impossible 
that  even  so  late  a  comer  as  the  Indian  should  not  have  seen  living  mastodons  on  the  Atlantic 
seaboajtd  of  this  continent." — Popular  Science  Monthly,  July,  1885,  page  310. 

®  It  is  in  the  possession  of  Prof.  W.  B.  Potter,  of  ISt.  Louis.  An  illustration  and 
description  of  it  appeared  in  Mr.  Conant's  Footprints  of  Vanished  Races,  and  subse- 
quently in  Mr.  Holmes's  monograph  upo'n  Art  in  Shell. 

t  We  are  indebted  to  Major  Powell  for  electrotypes  of  the  two  illustrations  pre- 
sented in  Figs.  245  and  246.  There  is  also  an  illustration  of  this  gorget,  natural  size, 
in  Mr.  Holmes's  paper. 


350 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 


Holmes  remarks  :  "Any  one  familiar  with  the  curious  pictographic 
manuscripts  of  the  ancient  Mexicans  will  see  at  a  glance  that  we 
have  here  a  sacrificial  scene,  in  which  a  priest  seems  to  be  engaged 
in  the  sacrifice  of  a  human  being.  In  the  extraordinary  manu- 
scripts of  Aztecs,  we  have  many  parallels  to  this  design.  So  closely 
does  it  approach  the  Aztec  type  that,  although  no  duplicate  can  be 
found  in  any  of  the  codices,  there  is  not  a  single  idea,  a  single  mem- 
ber, or  ornament,  that  has  not  its  analogue  in  the  Mexican  manu- 
scripts. Fortunately  for  the  credit  of  this  Missouri  relic,  we  do  not 
find  its  duplicate;  there   are   only  family  resemblances;  there  are 


Fig.  245. — Small  Gorget — the  Human  Figure,  Missouri  Mound. 

similar  plumes,  with  similar  ornaments  and  pendants ;  similar  cos- 
tumes and  attitudes ;  there  are  similar  features  and  similar  symbols, 
but  there  is  no  absolute  identity  except  in  motive  and  conception." 
Mr.  Holmes  presents  an  example  from  a  Mexican  manuscript  for 
comparison  (Fig.  246),*  which  we  also  introduced  to  show  our 
readers  the  marks  of  identity  and  of  contrast  in  the  two  designs. 

We  have  devoted  more  time  and  space  to  the  consideration  of 
these  engraved  gorgets  of  shell,  and  the  copper  plates,  than  we  had 
•contemplated,  as  they  have  constantly  presented  new  features  of  in- 
terest.    Whether  we  study  the  simpler  forms  of  the  scalloped  discs, 

*  Fijervary  collection,  Budapest,  Hungary.     Kingsborough,  Vol.  Ill,  Plate  22. 


COPPER,  BONE,  AND  SHELL  OBJECTS. 


351 


the  symmetrical  squares  and  circles,  the  complex  serpent  symbols, 
the  spider  emblem,  or  the  strange  mythological  figures  in  the  hu- 
man form,  the  designs  all  appear  to  have  some  serious  significance, 
intimately  associated  with  the  social  and  religious  life  of  the  ad- 
vanced race  of  mound  builders.  The  artistic  features  of  the  en- 
gravings command  respect.  They  are  the  product  of  serious  art, 
both  in  conception  and  treatment.  Indeed,  they  are  the  highest 
types  of  the  prehistoric  art  of  the  north.  A  few  of  them  are  as 
vigorous  in  design  and  execution  as  the  art  in  the  picture  writings 
of  Mexico,  or  upon  the  tablets  of  Central  America:  yet,  nothwith- 


FiG.  246. — Figure  from  an  Aztec  Painting. 


standing  the  occasional  suggestions  of  a  Mexican  or  southern 
origin,  they  are  evidently,  in  the  main,  of  original  and  independent 
growth. 

Placing  them  beside  the  best  known  pictographs  of  the  historic 
tribes  of  the  jSIississippi  valley,  we  are  compelled  to  admit  that  they 
represent  a  higher  state  of  society  and  a  better  culture  than  the  lat- 
ter. They  doubtless  mark  the  highest  stage  of  development  reached 
by  the  Indian  race  of  the  north-east,  a  race  evidently  akin  to  the 
progressive  Indian  villagers  of  the  west  and  south-west,  Avho,  under 
more  favorable  surroundings,  were  able  to  build  up  a  better  civiliza- 
tion in  the  valley  of  Anahuac. 


352  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

Commenting  upon  the  Missouri  gorget  (Fig.  245),  Mr.  Holmes 
remarks:  "The  engravings  of  the  mound  builders  represent  le- 
gendary creatures,  derived  from  the  myths  of  the  fathers,  and  in 
this  respect  have  their  parallels  in  the  bird-man  of  the  Ilaidahs,  the 
war  god  of  the  Zunis,  and  the  mythical  deities  of  other  countries, 
but  they  are  never  illustrative  of  the  customs  and  ceremonies  of  the 
people  themselves.  As  an  ornament,  this  Missouri  gorget  is  a 
member  of  a  great  family  that  is  peculiarly  northern,  but  the  de- 
sign engraved  upon  it  affiliates  with  the  art  of  Mexico ;  and  so  close 
and  striking  are  the  resemblances  that  accident  can  not  account  for 
them,  and  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  it  must  be  the  off- 
spring of  the  same  beliefs  and  customs,  and  the  same  culture,  as  the 
art  of  Mexico." 


CONCLUSION.  353 


CONCLUSION. 

The  Genuineness  of  the  Specimens  Illustrated — The  Superior  Types  from  the 
Mounds  and  Stone  Graves — The  Evidences  of  a  Western  or  South-western 
Origin — The  Crania — The  Tumuli  of  Mexico  and  the  South — The  Analogies  in 
Art  and  Industry — The  State  of  Ancient  Society — The  Northern  and  Southern 
Indians. 

In  the  series  of  historical  and  ethnological  studies  presented  in 
the  preceding  pages,  we  have  endeavored  to  illustrate  and  describe 
specimens  of  the  various  classes  of  antiquities  discovered  in  Ten- 
nessee and  in  some  of  the  adjacent  states.  We  have  desired,  as  far 
practicable,  to  present  exact  and  positive  information,  in  facts 
and  illustrations  relating  to  the  ancient  monuments  and  the  remains 
of  art  and  industry  in  this  general  section,  as  a  contribution  to  the 
fund  of  archceolof/ical  knowledge,  that  might  aid  in  determining  the  state 
of  aboriginal  society  in  the  prehistoric  period  represented  by  them. 

We  have  endeavored  to  conduct  our  investigations  in  a  spirit 
of  inquiry  rather  than  of  advocacy,  and  we  therefore  have  not  hesi- 
tated to  express  opinions  independently  of  theories,  and  sometimes 
apparently  at  variance  with  our  general  views  upon  this  subject. 
In  presenting  the  illustrated  chapters,  we  confess  that  we  have  been 
writing  with  an  increasing  respect  for  the  culture  represented  by 
some  of  the  objects  discovered. 

It  will  be  observed  also  that  we  have  tried  to  conform  to  the 
rule  laid  down  by  Aristotle,  that  "  no  archseologist  should  be  be- 
lieved, unless  he  preserves  the  evidences  of  his  assertions."  We 
have,  therefore,  devoted  more  attention  to  the  illustration  of  speci- 
mens tlian  to  theories  regarding  them. 

As  to  the  genuineness  of  the  new  and  original  specimens  pre- 
23 


354  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

sented  in  the  preceding  chapters,  we  desire  to  state  that  vo  shadow 
of  suspicion  should  fall  upon  any  one  of  them.  A  large  proportion  of 
them  are  from  our  own  private  collection,  and  all  of  them  have 
come  from  proper  custody,  and  have  been  carefully  examined. 
Regular  dealers  in  antiquities  are  as  yet  unknown  in  Tennessee. 
There  are  but  few  "  collectors,"  and  '■'■archoeological  frauds  "  have 
rarely  found  their  way  into  this  general  section.  There  has  been 
no  commercial  market  for  them,  and  until  recently  but  little  de- 
mand for  genuine  specimens  at  a  money  value.  There  has,  there- 
fore, been  no  advantage  to  be  gained  by  counterfeiting  relics,  and 
the  frauds  practiced  at  the  ISTorth  and  East  are  unknown  here.  As  a 
collector,  observer,  and  student  of  many  years'  experience,  the 
writer  feels  justified  in  guaranteeing  the  authenticity  of  the  entire 
list  of  new  specimens  illustrated.  This  statement  is,  of  course, 
mainly  based  upon  the  information  presented  in  the  text,  regarding 
each  one  of  them. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  enter  upon  an  extended  consideration 
of  the  interesting  ethnical  and  archaeological  problems  naturally 
suggested  in  reviewing  these  discoveries,  as  we  have  already  ex- 
ceeded the  limits,  both  of  time  and  space,  allotted  to  this  work,  but 
a  few  points  of  interest  will  be  briefly  noted. 

Any  antiquarian  or  collector  familiar  with  this  subject,  will  be 
impressed  with  the  fact  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  gather  a  col- 
lection of  antiquities  of  such  varied  and  advanced  types  as  have 
been  illustrated,  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  outside  of 
the  territory  occupied  by  the  mound  building  tribes.  They  present 
unmistakable  evidences  of  a  state  of  society  above  the  social  con- 
dition of  the  prehistoric  tribes  of  Canada  and  the  J^orth-eastern 
States,  including  New  York  and  Pennsylvania — Virginia  also. 

In  Dr.  C.  C.  Abbott's  valuable  work  upon  the  Primitive  Industries 
of  the  native  races  of  the  north  Atlantic  seaboard,  which  illustrates 
the  best  archaeological  specimens  of  that  general  section,  a  very 
diiFerent  and  inferior  class  of  objects  are  presented.  They  are  much 
ruder,  and  of  more  primitive  types.  This  well-recognized  fact  seems 
to    separate   the    culture  of  the  mound  builders   from  that  of  the 


CONCLUSION.  355 

ancient  tribes  of  the  ISTortb-east,  the  Iroquois,  the  Ilurons,  and  the 
Indians  of  the  Algonkin  stock,  by  well-defined  lines  of  distinction, 
indicating;  that  the  tribes  of  the  North  were  more  nomadic  and  lived 
in  a  more  barbarous  state. 

Unmistakable  evidences  are  also  presented  in  the  preceding 
pages  of  contact,  intercourse,  or  relationship,  more  or  less  intimate, 
between  the  aborigines  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  the  ancient 
peoples  of  the  South-west  and  the  of  pueblo  districts.  The  similar- 
ity in  the  forms  of  the  crania  found  in  the  ancient  graves  within  the 
mound  area,  and  the  crania  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Mexico, 
Central  America,  Peru,  and  the  pueblos,  suggests  a  common  origin. 
The  broad-headed  or  brachycephalic  type  is  predominant.  It  ap- 
pears to  distinguish  the  cranial  types  of  the  old  peoples  of  the  South 
and  South-west  from  the  long  or  oval  crania  of  the  northern  tribes. 
The  short,  broad  skulls  seem  also  to  have  represented  the  ethnic 
tendencies  toward  progress  and  development  that  characterized  the 
ancient  Mexicans  and  the  Indians  of  the  village  or  semi-village 
class.* 

■■'■'  Bearing  upon  this  point  of  diflferent  peoples,  we  find  that  the  prevailing  form 
of  the  skulls  from  the  older  burial  places  across  the  northern  jiortions  of  the  conti- 
nent, from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic,  is  of  the  long,  narrow  tj'pe  (dolichocephalic), 
while  the  skulls  of  the  old  peoples  of  Central  America,  Mexico,  and  the  south-west- 
ern and  southern  portions  of  the  United  States,  are  principally  of  the  short,  broad 
type  (brachycephalic).  Following  the  distribution  of  the  long  and  short  skulls,  as 
they  are  now  found  in  burial  places,  it  is  evident  that  the  two  forms  have  spread  in 
certain  directions  over  North  America:  the  short  or  broad-headed  race  of  the  South 
spreading  out  toward  the  East  and  North-east,  while  the  long  or  narrow-headed 
i-ace  of  the  North  has  sent  its  branches  southward,  down  both  coasts  and  toward  the 
interior,  by  many  lines  from  the  North,  as  well  as  from  the  East  and  West.  The 
two  races  have  passed  each  other  here  and  there.  In  other  places  they  have  met ; 
and  probably  nowhere  is  there  more  marked  evidences  of  this  meeting  than  in  the 
Ohio  valley,  where  have  been  found  burial  places  and  sepulchral  mounds  of  differ- 
ent kinds  and  of  different  times. — Prof.  F.  W.  Putnam,  in  The  Century,  March, 
1890,  page  699. 

After  personal  comparison  of  Peruvian  skulls  with  authentic  mound  builders' 
skulls  from  Michigan  and  Indiana,  and  others  from  dolmens  and  mounds  in  Central 
Tennessee,  I  feel  confident  that  the  identity  of  the  race  of  the  mound  builders  with 


356  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

The  presence  of  a  few  of  the  long,  narrow,  or  oval  skulls  in 
the  ancient  cemeteries  of  Ohio,  and  in  the  stone  graves  of  Illinois 
and  Tennessee,  doubtless  marks  the  beginnings  of  contact  with  the 
northern  tribes,  and  the  interminglings  and  tribal  absorptions  nec- 
essarily preceding  the  final  struggles  that  resulted  in  the  overthrow 
and  expulsion,  or  partial  expulsion,  of  the  mound  builders  from 
their  homes  in  the  Ohio  valley,  and  later  from  the  valley  of  the 
Cumberland.  Other  familiar  evidences  of  ethnic  identity  connect- 
ing the  mound  tribes  with  the  ancient  races  of  Mexico  and  the 
South  may  be  traced  through  the  general  system  of  mound  and  pyr- 
amid structures  of  Mexico  and  Central  America,  l^early  all  the 
forms  of  the  tumuli  of  the  Mississippi  valley  are  duplicated  in  the 
imposing  teocalli.  The  elevated  terraces,  the  pyramid  temples,  the 
truncated  cones,  the  interior  tombs,  are  all  to  be  found  among  the 
ruins  of  the  more  elaborate  pyramids  and  structures  of  stone  and 
earth.  Ancient  mounds  and  earth-works  also  extended  along  the 
branches  of  the  Red  river  of  the  south-west,  and  through  Texas  to 
the  very  banks  of  the  Eio  Grande. 

We  have  already  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  some  of  the 
upper  tributaries  of  the  Arkansas  river  are  to  be  found  in  the  high- 
lands of  New  Mexico.  From  this  ancient  pueblo  district,  it  flows 
down  into  the  territory  of  the  mound  builders  and  pottery  makers 
of  the  lower  valley.  The  ancient  culture  of  Mexico  and  New 
Mexico  could  not  have  been  entirely  unknown  to  the  progressive 
tribes  that  once  peopled  the  valleys  of  the  Red  and  Arkansas  rivers, 
and  their  kindred  of  the  neighboring  sections.  The  presence  of 
obsidian  in  several  mound  centers  of  the  East  also  confirms  the 
other  evidences  of  ancient  intercourse. 

The  illustrations  presented  in  the  preceding  chapters  have 
called  attention  to  many  analogies  and  identities  connecting  the  an- 
tiquities of  Tennessee  with  the  ancient  arts  and  industries  of  Mexico 
and  the  pueblos.     The  remarkable  mythological   figures  upon  the 

the  race  of  Anahiiac  and  Peru  will  become  fully  recognized.— Pre- Adamites  (Alex- 
ander Winchell),  pages  339,  340. 


CONCLUSION.  357 

shell  gorgets  and  copper  plates  surely  show  unmistakable  evidences 
of  a  Mexican  origin  or  affiliation.  The  tube  pipes  from  the  valley 
of  the  Cumberland,  the  large  ear  ornaments,  the  images,  the  idols, 
the  grotesque  forms,  the  long  ceremonial  flints — all  seem  to  connect 
the  mound  tribes  with  the  arts,  culture,  or  religion  of  the  peoples 
ot  the  the  west  and  south-west,  and  to  separate  them  from  the 
tribes  of  the  north  and  north-east.  The  better  class  of  pottery 
from  the  graves  and  mounds,  and  the  ancient  ware  of  the  pueblo 
districts  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  also  show  decided  marks  of 
resemblance.  The  ancient  pottery  from  the  Mississippi  valley,  as 
might  well  be  expected,  is  much  inferior  to  the  finer  type  of  the 
ceramic  arts  found  in  Mexico,  yet  occasional  identities  in  form  and 
character  are  suggested  by  the  illustrations  of  the  north-eastern 
ware  in  the  chapter  upon  ancient  pottery.  The  specimens  from  the 
several  mound  districts  greatly  vary  in  form  and  quality,  yet  the 
pottery  remains  throughout  the  entire  Mississppi  valley  are  homo- 
geneous in  their  general  characteristics. 

The  remains  of  ancient  arts  discovered  in  the  Cumberland  and 
Tennessee  valleys,  as  we  have  stated,  were  probably  in  the  main  of 
indigenous  growth — the  original  independent  product  of  the  culture 
of  the  Stone  Grave  race,  the  mound  builders  of  Tennessee.  The 
traces  here  and  there  of  Mexican,  southern,  or  pueblo  culture,  save 
in  occasional  instances,  were  probably  but  the  outgrowths  of  cus- 
toms and  tendencies  derived  from  a  common  ancestry.  The  mound 
building  tribes  doubtless  lived,  during  many  generations,  upon  va- 
rious planes  of  development,  in  the  fertile  and  widely  extended  ter- 
ritory in  which  their  monuments  are  discovered.  This  progressive 
race  was  evidently  making  steady  advances  toward  a  better  condi- 
tion of  life.  The  semi-civilization  of  the  Aztecs  was  developed, 
through  a  series  of  centuries,  from  humble  beginnings  of  culture 
among  tribes  of  aborigines  no  further  advanced  than  these  mound 
building  villagers.  The  best  evidences  of  this  progress  among  the 
mound  tribes  are  only  occasionally  discovered.  They  come  to  light 
at  points  remote  from  other  discoveries,  yet  they  indicate  that  their 


358  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

culture  was  homogeneous  in  the  several  centers  of  its  highest  devel- 
opment. 

The  engraved  gorgets  of  shell  from  Tennessee,  Georgia,  Mis- 
souri, and  Illinois ;  the  incised  or  engraved  copper  plates  from 
Georgia  and  Illinois ;  the  Ohio  tablets  of  stone ;  the  inscribed  stones 
from  Middle  Tennessee ;  the  copper-plated  rings  of  stone  and  pot- 
tery from  the  stone  graves;  the  objects  plated  with  meteoric  iron 
from  the  mounds  of  Ohio  ;  the  finely  sculptured  stone  pipes  from 
the  mounds  of  Ohio,  Iowa,  and  the  South ;  the  occasional  tine  an- 
tiques from  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  Arkansas — all  are  representa- 
tive types  of  this  advanced  culture.  Some  of  the  decorated  and 
graceful  vessels  of  pottery,  the  well-made  ornaments  and  imple- 
ments, and  sets  of  implements  from  the  stone  graves,  must  also  be 
classed  with  the  other  evidences  of  this  more  advanced  state  of  so- 
ciety. While  we  do  not  regard  the 'magnitude  of  the  large  mounds 
as  necessarily  constituting  reliable  testimony  as  to  this  higher  con- 
dition, the  remarkable  forms  of  some  of  the  earth-works  in  the 
Ohio  valley — the  circles,  squares,  and  various  exact  dimensions — 
seem  certain  indications  of  a  state  of  knowledge  above  the  general 
intelligence  of  the  modern  tribes  of  Indians. 

These  evidences  do  not  prove  the  existence  of  a  race  necessarily 
superior  to  and  differing  essentially  in  its  characteristics  from  some 
of  the  advanced  tribes  of  modern  southern  Indians.  The  antiqui- 
ties illustrated,  considered  as  a  whole,  represent  a  comparatively 
primitive  state  of  society. 

The  remains  of  the  arts  and  industries,  in  their  best  manifesta- 
tions, are  typical  of  the  Indian  race,  but  they  certainly  indicate 
ethnic  conditions,  in  certain  centers  of  development,  considerably 
above  the  culture  status  of  even  the  most  advanced  tribes  of  the 
Mississippi  valley  at  the  period  of  its  first  settlement  by  Europeans. 
The  ancestors  of  some  of  the  historic  tribes  of  eastern  Indians  may 
have  once  lived  in  this  more  advanced  condition  of  life.  They  may 
liave  constructed  the  great  mounds,  and  enjoyed  the  hmited  culture 
represented  by  the  best  expressions  of  prehistoric  art ;  but,  if  this 
theory  be  accepted,  it  seems  clear  that  the  race  and  their  arts,  by 


CONCLUSION.  359 

reason  of  some  great  catastrophe,  or  succession  of  wars,  defeats,  and 
changes,  must  have  declined  or  degenerated,  and  become  thereby 
reduced  to  a  somewhat  more  barbarous  state. 

"We  can  not  believe  that  these  higher  types  represent  nothing 
more  than  the  ordinary  culture  of  Indian  tribes  like  the  Shawnees 
and  Cherokees,  as  this  culture  was  observed  and  reported  "  a  hun- 
dred years  ago."  Neither  do  we  agree  in  opinion  with  the  class  of 
authors  and  occasional  writers  who  seem  disposed  to  magnify  and 
overestimate  the  significance  of  the  ancient  monuments  and  remains 
of  art,  and  to  insist  that  they  are  the  work  of  a  superior  race  of 
Toltecs,  Aztecs,  or  Mayas 

Neither  of  these  views  correctly  interprets  the  ethnic  condition 
of  the  mound  builders. 

A  more  careful  analysis  and  comparison  of  actual  discoveries 
should  remove  the  confusion  in  which  this  subject  has  long  been  in- 
volved ;  and  a  better  understanding  of  the  meaning  of  the  elastic 
and  ill-defined  word  '•^Indian,'"  as  we  have  already  suggested,  would 
also  greatly  aid  in  systematizing  our  knowledge  of  American  archae- 
ology. 

It  would  be  a  difiicult  task  to  classify  the  various  branches  of 
the  North  American  Indian  family.  We  shall  not  attempt  it.  We 
think  it  may  be  safely  asserted,  however,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
separate  the  race  or  tribes  of  mound  builders  from  this  general 
stock.  The  innumerable  tribes  of  Indians  represented  several  eth- 
nic stages.  A  single  illustration  will  answer  our  purpose.  The 
Comanches,  the  Apaches,  the  Utes,  the  Pimas,  the  Mohaves,  the 
Maricopas,  the  Navajos,  the  Moquis,  the  Zunis,  all  lived  in  the  same 
general  section — in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  or  in  territory  adja- 
cent. They  represented  ethnic  conditions  widely  apart ;  yet  these 
ditterent  tribes  had  many  characteristics  and  afiinities  in  common. 
We  are  told  that  the  Navajos,  now  living  in  rude  huts,  before  the 
advent  of  the  Spaniards,  built  and  lived  in  pueblo  structures. 

The  Comanches  are  classed  with  the  wildest  hunting  tribes; 
the  Moquis  and  Zunis  with  the  most  progressive  and  advanced — 


360  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE. 

H.  H.  Bancroft  calls  them  semi-civilized ;  yet  all  are  classed  in  the 
general  ethnic  scale  as  ^'■Indians.'' 

In  the  same  sense,  the  mound  builders  of  the  Mississippi  valley  were 
'■'■Indians;'"  but  iu  the  scale  of  civilization,  their  culture  must  grade 
with  that  of  the  highest  type  Indians,  like  the  Moquis  and  Zunis  and 
other  advanced  tribes  of  the  South-west  of  the  village  or  sedentary 
class — tribes  of  the  same  race  that,  under  difierent  conditions  and 
surroundings,  built  up  the  semi-civilization  of  ancient  Mexico  and 
of  the  pueblo  districts. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  specimens  illustrated  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages  will,  we  think,  satisfy  the  unprejudiced  inquirer  that 
they  are  not  inferior  in  grade  to  the  best  types  of  ancient  art  discov- 
ered in  the  pueblo  sections.  Indeed,  we  doubt  whether  any  existing 
collection  of  the  prehistoric  remains  of  the  pueblo  Indians  will  pre- 
sent evidences  of  a  more  advanced  condition  of  society  than  must 
have  existed  in  the  Mississippi  valley  during  the  mound  building 
era. 

We  have  already  suggested  that  the  absence  of  the  remains  of 
pueblo  or  south-western  architecture  in  the  eastern  mound  section 
is  readily  explained.  The  large  pueblo  structures  were  the  out- 
growth of  a  peculiar  environment.  They  were  not  suited  to  condi- 
tions of  life  that  existed  in  the  alluvial  valleys  and  primal  forests  of 
the  Mississippi  region.  Had  some  of  the  adobe  or  grouted  pueblos 
been  erected  in  the  humid,  changeable  climate  of  Ohio  or  Tennessee 
during  the  prehistoric  period,  it  would  scarcely  be  possible  now  to 
identify  their  remains.  Their  walls  would  have  long  since  dissolved 
into  the  original  clay. 

We  have  already  considered  the  changed  conditions  that  prob- 
ably succeeded  the  decline  and  final  overthrow  of  the  power  of  the 
mound  builders — the  period  of  tribal  "  reconstruction."  Their 
culture  doubtless  left  its  impress  upon  the  social  condition  of  the 
Indian  tribes  of  the  South,  who  were  found  to  be  more  advanced  iu 
the  humble  arts  of  domestic  life,  and  more  peaceable  than  the  In- 
dians of  the  North. 


CONCLUSION.  361 

Although  a  race  apparently  homogeneous  was  found  in  the 
Mississippi  valley  at  the  later  period,  many  evidences  of  the  more 
advanced  state  of  the  mound  tribes  still  remained,  and  marked 
differences  were  found  in  the  ethnic  conditions  of  the  various 
modern  tribes.* 

Father  Membre,  who  visited  the  Lower  Mississippi  country  in 
1681,  informs  us  that  the  natives  of  Arkansas  "  did  not  resemble 
those  of  the  North,  who  are  all  sad  and  severe  in  their  temper; 
these,"  he  states,  "  are  far  better  made,  honest,  liberal,  and  gay ;"  f 
and  Father  Hennepin  also  reported  that  the  southern  Indians,  two 
centuries  ago,  were  "  civil,  easie,  tractable,  and  capable  of  instruc- 
tion ;"  but  he  declares  that  the  northern  Indians  "  were  Brutes 
as  fierce  and  cruel  as  any  wild  Beasts."  |  The  natives  of  the 
South  visited  by  these  discoverers,  it  seems,  still  showed  some 
of  the  characteristics  of  the  village  Indians  of  the  West  and 
South-west. 

The  civilization  of  Peru  had  declined  from  its  best  estate  when 
the  Spaniards  first  appeared  and  trampled  upon  the  power  of  the 
Incas;  the  Mayas  had  lapsed  into  barbarism,  and  their  imposing 
structures  of  stone  were  in  ruins,  when  discovered ;  the  Aztecs  were 
less  civilized  than  their  predecessors,  the  Toltecs ;  and  the  progress- 
ive race  of  mound  builders,  who  once  doubtless  formed  a  strong 
tribal  alliance  or  confederacy  in  the  Mississippi  valley  and  adjacent 

*  Any  estimate  of  the  time  ttiat  elapsed  during  these  changes  is  necessarily  con- 
jectural. We  have  the  impression,  however,  based  mainly  upon  the  condition  of 
the  remains  found  in  the  graves,  that  the  tribes  of  the  Stone  Grave  race  were  prob- 
ably in  a  flourishing  condition  in  the  Cumberland  valley  four  or  five  centurirs  ago. 
They  may  have  been  at  the  height  of  their  power  at  an  earlier  period.  We  do  not 
think  it  IS  necessary  to  attribute  a  greater  age  than  eight  hundred  or  a  thousand 
years  to  any  of  the  monuments  or  remains  discovered  in  the  Ohio  or  Cumberland 
valleys.  The  remains  of  the  Stone  Grave  race  seem  to  belong  to  a  later  period  than 
most  of  the  Ohio  mounds  and  earth-works. 

t  Narrative  of  Father  Membre ;  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi  (Shea),  page 
169. 

t  A  New  Discovery,  etc.,  page  157.    London,  1698. 


362  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TENNESSEE, 

sections,  had  also  probably  reached  the  zenith  and  decline  of  their 
power  when  Columbus  set  sail  upon  his  voyage  of  discovery ;  but 
unmistakable  evidences  of  their  more  advanced  state  have  already 
been  found  in  many  ancient  centers  of  their  population  and 
progress. 


The  End. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Abbott,  Dr.  C.  C,  239,  349,  354 

Adair,  James,  mentioned,  14,  73,  128 

Adzes  of  stone,  222,  259,  260 

Age  of  the  stone  graves,  50,  361 

Agriculture,  Indian,  14 

Agricultural  implements,  220,  222 

Alabama  specimens,  187,  274,  333 

Algonkin  Indians,  20,  355 

Amulets,  167 

Antiquity  of  America,  10 

Antiquity  of  the  stone  graves,  50,  361 

Architecture,  ancient,  360 

Arizona,  Indians  of,  17 

Aristotle's  rule,  353 

Arkansas,  mounds  of,  55 

Arrow  making,  216 

Arrow  points,  219 

Arrow  shafts,  stones  for  rounding,  263 

Artistic  faculty  of  Indians,  15 

Arts  and  industries,  17,  25 

Arts  of  mound  builders,  359 

Arts  of  Navajo  Indians,  96,  97 

Arts,  origin  of,  357 

Awls  of  bone,  306 

Awls  of  copper,  301 

Axes  of  stone,  255 

Axes  of  Zunis,  255 

Aztecs,  11 

Aztec  civilization,  357,  361 

Aztec  picture,  351 

Bancroft,  H.  H.,  11,  84,  96,  166,  330 

Bandalier,  A.  F.,  38 

Banner  or  shield  of  natives,  96 

Banner  stones,  294 

Bass,  John  M.,  47 

Battle  of  Horseshoe,  plan  of,  57,  58 

Beads,  316 

Beads  of  shell,  316,  317 


Beads  of  stone,  321 
Beads  of  terra  cotta,  320 
Biedma's  account  of  mounds,  52 
Blackman,  Dr.  W.  C,  50 
Bledsoe's  Lick,  Sumner  county,  34 
Bone  implements,  304-308 
Bone  spatulae,  307 
Bone  bird  totem,  308 
Bone  whistles,  283,  284 
Boone,  Daniel,  7 
Borers  of  stone,  or  drills,  219 
Breast  plates  of  shell,  321.     See  Gorgets. 
Brick  or  adobe  remains,  25 
Brinton,  Dr.  D.  G.,  22,  23,  51 
Burial  casket  of  pottery,  29,  30 
Burial,  cave,  31 
Burial  customs,  29,  30 
Burial  houses,  70 

Byser  cemetery,  on  White's  creek,  100, 
162 

Cabeza  de  Vaca,  82 

Cahokia  mounds,  Illinois,  50,  61,  64 

California  implements,  243,  271 

California  pipes,  93 

California  tubes,  281 

Calumets,  176-178 

Carr,  Lucien,  14,  60,  73,  115,  119 

Carthage  mounds,  Alabama,  186 

Cartier,  the  French  discoverer,  8 

Castalian  springs,  Tennessee,  34,  108 

Catlinite,  80,  81 

Catlinite  pipes,  199,  200,  210 

Cave  burials,  3 

Celts,  smooth  stone,  256,  258 

Cemetery,  O.  F.  Noel,  2 

Cemeteries,  stone  grave,  28 

Century  magazine,  255 

(363) 


S6^ 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


Ceremonial  implements  of  chipped  stone, 

244,  250 
Ceremonial  implements  of  smooth  stone, 

294-29G 
Charles,  D.  G.,  59,  284,  303,  327 
Charlvoix,  Father,  55,  348 
Charnay,  D.,  98 
Chatta-Muskogee  tribes,  23 
Cherokee  Indians,  20,  23,  359 
Chickasaw^  Indians,  20,  23 
Chimneys,  67 

Chipped  stone  implements,  214 
Chisels  of  stone,  226,  227,  260 
Choctaw  Indians,  23,  248 
Chungke  game,  21,  264,  265 
Chungke  stones,  264-267 
Cincinnati  Tablet,  86,  237 
Cisco,  John  G.,  46,  219 
Clark,  Dr.  W.  M.,  50,  104 
Clay  pipes,  180-190 
Clinton,  Governor  De  Witt,  13 
Clothing  of  natives.  268,  270,  336 
Cloth  fabric,  ancient,  268 
Collections  of  pottery,  174 
Collections  at  Hermitage,  205 
Conant,  A.  J.,  28,  61,  62,  90,  271 
Cones,  or  mullers,  289 
Cooper,  Hon.  W.  F.'s,  farm,  29,  308,  314, 

330 
Copper  implements  and  objects,  25,  242, 

298 
Copper,  earrings  of,  170 
Copper,  native,  79,  80 
Copper,  plated  rings  of,  168,  169 
Copper,  plates  of,  Georgia,  342 
Copper,  plates  of,  Illinois,  344 
Corn,  cultivation  of,  14 
Coward,  D.  R.,  280 
Cradle  board  image  of  pottery,  112 
Cradles  of  Zunis,  114 
Crania,  114 

Crania  in  stone  graves,  49 
Crania,  rule  of  measurement,  115 
Crania,  author's  collection,  116,  124 
Crania,  Dr.  Jones's  table  of,  123 
Crania,  Lucien  Carr's  table  of,  125 
Crania  of  Tennessee  and  Missouri,  117 
Crania  from  Ohio  cemeteries,  119 
Crania,  artificial  depression  of,  119 
Crania  of  Peruvians,  120 
Crania  of  pueblo  Indians,  120 


Crania  of  cliff  dwellers,  121 

Crania,  types  of,  355,  356 

Crawfish  totem,  248,  249 

Creek  Indians,  23 

Cross,  emblem  of  the,  299,  301,  302 

Currency,  ancient,  90 

Cushing,  Frank,  55,  68,  78,  120,  130 

Cut.ing  knives  of  stone,  262 

Daggers,  flint,  232-236 

Dall,  W.  H.,  60 

Davenport  Academy  of  Science,  30,  348 

De  Ayllon  mentioned,  7 

De  Graff"enreid  earth-works,  336 

De  Soto,  6,  55 

De  Soto,  relics  of,  59,  303 

De  Vaca,  Cabeza,  51 

Dickinson,  Dr.  M.  W.,  89 

Discs  of  chipped  flint,  250 

Discs  or'discoidal  stones,  264^266 

Discs,  small  stone,  271,  272-288 

Discs  of  California,  271 

Discs  or  whorls,  Swiss,  271 

Discs,  spinning,  or  whorls,  271 

Discs,  Alabama,  274 

Discs,  serpent,  333 

Discs  of  shell.     See  Gorgets. 

Dog,  the  ancient,  146,  152 

Dog  heads  in  pottery,  147,  148,  153 

Domestic  animals,  146 

Dorsey,  Rev.  J.  O.,  66 

Douglass,  A.  E.,  109,  170,  194,  201,  345 

Douglass  shell  gorget,  345 

Dresses  of  the  natives,  96 

Dresses  of  mound  builders,  90-93,  340- 

346 
Dresses  of  Navajos,  96 
Dresses  of  southern  Indians,  96 
Drills  of  flint,  219 
Drinking  cups,  142-144,  310 
Du  Pratz,  M.,  23,  24,  56,  124,  128 
Dwellings  of  the  natives,  65 
Dwight,  President,  quoted,  13 

Ear  ornaments,    167,   287,   288,  341-346, 

349 
Earrings  of  pottery,  167 
Ear  pendants  or  ornaments,  287,  341,  346 
Earth-works,  27,  28 
Earth-works  of  Sumner  county,  32,  33 
Earth-works,  Lebanon,  34,  35 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


365 


Earth-works,  Big  Harpeth,  35-37 
Earth-works,  Old  Town,  39,  40 
Earth- works.  West  Harpeth,  40,  41 
Earth-works,  Savannah,  Tennessee,  43- 

45 
Earth- works  near  Centerville,  46 
Earth-works  in  Humphrey  county,  46 
Earth-works  in  Madison  county,  46 
Earth-works  at  Cahokia,  111.,  61 
Earth-works  near  Nashville,  4 
Earth-works  of  modern  Indian,  51,  58 
Effigy  mound,  "Wisconsin,  348 
Elephant  figure,  347,  348 
Elephant  mound,  348 
Elephant  pipes,  348 
Engraved  stones,  86-90 
Engraved  shells,  324,  352 
Etowah  mound,  Ga.,  340-344 
European  relics  from  mounds,  58,  59,  303 

Fabric,  ancient,  268 

Fabric,  impressions  of,  269,  270,  300 

Family,  totems,  247,  248 

Farming,  Indian,  14 

Fish  spears,  237 

Flint  implements,  214,  220,  225 

Flint  chisels,  226,  227,  260 

Flint  daggers,  232,  236 

Flint  knives,  228,  230 

Force,  General  M.  F.,  21,  22,  45 

Fork  of  shell,  314,  315 

Fortified  towns  of  natives,  16,  33,  51,  52, 

53 
Forts,  Indian,  32,  51,  53-58 
Forts  of  Iroquois,  56 
Fowke,  Gerard,  63,  73,  273,  297,  321 
Fraudulent  specimens,  354 
French  traders,  16 
Fulton,  Prof.  R.  B.,  273,  221 
Funnel-shaped  stone  objects,  283 

Gaming  stones,  264,  268 
Game  of  Chungke,  264,  265 
Genuineness  of  specimens,  353 
Georgia  mounds,  184,  185,  340 
Ge()rgia  specimens,  184,  185,  340-342 
Gorgets  of  shell,  321 
Gorgets,  plain  forms,  323 
Gorgets,  scalloped,  324 
Gorgets,  bird  design,  327 
Gorgets,  serpent  design,  329-334 


Gorgets,  spider  design,  335 
Gorgets,  the  human  form,  336-352 
Graves  or  cemeteries,  28,  32 
Greek  key  pattern  or  fret,  87,  88 
Grooved  stone  axes,  255 
Grooved  stone  hammers,  257 

Hair,  manner  of  dressing,  92,  93,  346 

Hall,  Captain  W.  P.,  29 

Halley,  Geo.  T.,  113 

Halley,  R.  A.,  109 

Hammers,  stone,  257 

Handles  of  implements,  223,  228,  260 

Hatchets  of  stone,  221,  260 

Haywood,  Judge,  29,  50,  282 

Hematite  cones,  289 

Hematite  objects,  290 

Henderson,  Hon.  W.  A.,  47,  134 

Hieroglyphic  writings,  25,  89 

Hindoo  Ganesa,  347 

Hoes,  flint,  220,  223 

Holmes,  W.  H.,  31,  147, 270,  310,  313,  327, 

330-334,  337-339,  350-352 
Horn  handles,  228,  260 
Houses  of  the  natives,  51-53 
Houses,  the  remains  of,  61 
Houses  of  New  Mexico,  65,  68 
Houses  of  Arizona,  65,  68 
Houses  of  Iroquois,  66 
Houses  of  Mandans,  66,  74,  75 
Houses  of  cliff  dwellers,  67 
Houses  of  Navajos,  78 
Houses,  De  Soto's  account  of,  68 
Houses  of  Cherokees,  69 
Houses  of  Cenis,  69 
Houses  of  Tounicas,  69 
Houses  of  Taensas,  69-76 
House  site  remains,  34,  35,  72 
Humboldt,  Baron  Von,  9,  347 
Hupa  Indians,  216,  224 

Idols  and  images,  25,  98-112 
Idol  worship,  HI,  112 
Idols  of  pottery,  98,  102 
Idols  of  stone.  102-112 
Idol  of  Dr.  Troost,  109 
Images.     See  Idols. 
Image,  cradle  board,  112 
Illinois  specimens,  335,  344 
Implements  of  chipped  stone,  214 
arrow  points,  519 


366 


GENEKAL    INDEX. 


Implements  of  chipped  stone — con'd — 

of  agriculture,  220 

mechanical,  220,  221 

handles  of,  223 

scrapers,  224 

chisels,  226-227 

knives,  228,  230 

daggers,  232,  235 

swords  and  spears,  237,  240 

ceremonial,  228,  244 

totems,  245-250 
Implements  of  smooth  stone,  253 

grooved  axes,  255 

celts  256 

adzes  259 

chisels  260,  262 

axes  ol  Zunis,  255 

hammers,  257 

of  lake  dwellers,  260 
Implements  oi  pottery,  162,  163 
Impressions  oi  fabric,  270 
Indians,  Creek,  12 
Indians,  Natchez,  12-21,  23,  134 
Indians,  Navajo,  12-78,  96 
Indians  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  12, 

19,  35,  38 
Indians,  Huron,  12,  13 
Indians,  Iroquois,  6,  12,  13,  355 
Indians,  Cherokee,  14,  20,  23,  248,  359 
Indians.  Choctaw,  14,  20,  23,  248 
Indians,  Chickasaw,  14,  20,  23 
Indian  characteristics,  6,  8,  15,  22,  25,  26, 

66 
Indian  fortifications,  57,  58 
Inscribed  stones,  85,  89,  90 
Inscriptions,  ancient,  25 
Insignia,  96,  240,  327 
Iowa  pipes,  348 
Iron,  no  knowledge  of,  25 

Jackson,  General  Andrew,  57,  58 

collection  ot,  205 
Jars  of  pottery   132-140 
Johnson,  Capt.  J.  R.   105,  273,  295,  296 
Jones  Col.  C  C,  58,  59,103,185,  186,215, 

239,  281   282 
Jones  Dr.  Joseph,  23,  27,  28,  29,  31,  35, 

36.  40,  41.  46,  49,  80,  107,  118,  123, 

236,  258,  259,  269,  278,  301,  324 

Kaskaskia,  Illinois,  7 


Kentucky  specimens,  181,  194,  200 
Killebrew,  Miss  L.,  168,  172,  175 
Kiowa  Indians,  112 
Knives  of  stone,  255,  262 

.  Lake  dweller's  implement,  260,  270 
Lallemont  quoted,  14 
Langley,  Prof.  S.  P.,  324 
Languages,  native,  10,  11 
La  Salle,  6,  68,  69 
La  Vega's  account  of  moun<.s,  51 
Longfellow,  the  poet,  quoted,  81 
Lubbock,  Sir  John,  126,  281 

Maces  of  stone,  241,  244    • 

Madison  county  mounds,  46 

Maize,  cultivation  of,  14 

Maize  mortars,  278 

Mallery,  CoL  Garrick,  85,  94,  111 

Mammoth,  347,  349 

Mandan  Indians,  21 

houses  of,  74,  75 
Marbles  of  terra  cotta,  164 
Marine  shells,  81,  82 
Marsh,  Prof.  O.  C,  121 
Marquette,  6 

Mason,  Otis  T.,  196,  216,  217 
Mastodon,  347,  349 
McAdams,  W.,  61 
Medicine  tubes,  281 
Mexican  analogies,  337,  342,  347-350,  351, 

355,  356,  357 
Mexican  civilization,  11,  105 
Mexican  picture,  347,  350 
Mexican  pottery,  88,  357 
Mexican  remains,  62,  63,  98 
Mexican  teocalli  or  mounds,  356 
Miami  Indians,  19 
Missouri  pottery,  61,  62 
Money,  shell,  89,  318 
Moorehead,  Warren  K.,  151 
Moqui  Indians,  359 
Moqui  vase,  87 

Morgan,  L.  H.,  11,  19,  59,  63,  65,  66,  69 
Morrow,  Frank,  151,  153 
Mortars,  stone,  278 
Mortuary  customs,  35,  38 
Mound   builders,  origin  of,  62,  63,   122, 

355, 359 
Mound  builders,  picture  of,  90 
Mounds  and  earth-works,  27,  28 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


367 


Mounds  and  earth-works — 

ol  Sumner  county,  32,  33 

near  Lebanon,  34,  35 

at  Old  Town,  39,  40 

WestHarpeth,  40,41 

at  Savannah,  Tennessee,  43-45 

Parish,  46 

near  Centerville,  46 

of  Humphreys  county,  46 

Madison  county,  46 

Mt.  Penson,  46 

at  Cahokia,  Illinois,  61 

construction  of,  63,  64 

of  Ohio,  63 

effigy  of  Wisconsin,  63 

of  Natchez  Indians,  56 

of  Choctaws,  56 

modern,  58,  59 

accounts  of  the  Spaniards,  51,  52 

accounts  of  Cab^za  de  Vaca,  51 

accounts  of  De  Sota,  51,  52 

of  Arkansas,  55 
Mullers  or  cones,  289 
Muscogee  Indians,  23 
Musical  instruments,  283,  284 
Myer,  W.  E..  107 

Narvaez,  Pamphilo  de,  7 

Natchez  Indians,  21,  23,  134 

Natchez  Indians,  mounds  of,  55 

Native  races,  origin  of,  10,  62,  63,  122,  355 

Navajo  Indian,  78,  95,  97,  359 

Navajo  Indian  art,  78,  96,  97 

Navajo  Indians  houses,  78,  356 

New  Mexico,  tribes  of,  17,  359 

New  Orleans,  7 

Nicklin,  J.  B.,  137,  175,  217,  273 

Noel  stone  grave  cemetery.  2,  174 

Obsidian,  79,  80 

Ohio  cemeteries,  119,  356 

Ohio  implemL'iits,  297 

Ohio  mounds,  63,  07,  357 

Ohio  pipes,  177 

Oliva  literata  shells,  317 

Origin  of    mound  builders,  62,  63,  122, 

355,  359 
Origin  of  native  races,  122 
Ornamented  banner  stone,  87 
Ornamented  pottery,  136,  137,  144,  151, 

157 


Paint  cups,  275,  276,  277 

Palgrave  quoted,  9 

Palaeolithic  implements,  217 

Parkman,  F.  W.,  66,  93 

Parish  mound,  46 

Pearls,  316,  320 

Peet,'  Rev.  S.  D.,  296 

Pendants  of  stone,  241,  242,  291,  292 

Pendants  of  shell.    See  Gorgets. 

Peruvian  skulls,  120 

Peruvian  pottery,  158 

Pestles  of  stone,  277,  279    ' 

Pictographs  in  stone,  90,  93 

Pigmy  graves,  29 

Pins  of  shell,  315 

Pioneers,  western,  16 

Pipes,  84,  176 

the  calumet,  176,  178 

historic  accounts  of,  176-178 

Ohio,  177 

of  pottery,  180 

idol  and  image  forms,  182,  188 

animal  forms,  187,  207 

tube  forms,  190,  195 

platform,  195,  197 

catlinite,  199,  200 

disc  forms,  199,  201 

modern,  210 

elephant  forms,  348 
Plan  of  earth-works  — 

Sumner  county,  33 

Lebanon,  34 

De  Graffenreid  works,  36 

Old  Town  works,  39 

West  Harpeth  works,  40 

Stone  fort,  41 

Savannah  works,  43 
Plan  of  battle  of  horseshoe,  57 
Plan  of  Maudan  liouse,  74,  75 
Plastering  trowels,  76,  163 
Plates  of  stone,  274 
Plummet  of  flint,  225 
Ponce  de  Leon,  7 
Population,  aboriginal,  14,  52 
Potter,  Prof.  W.  B.,  72,  349 
Pottery  remains,  17,  25,  128-174 

southern,  128 

De  Soto's  account  of,  1 28 

of  Cherokees  and  Natchez,  128 

Du  Pratz's  account,  128 

of  Mandans,  129 


368 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


Pottery — 

of  Louisiana  Indians,  130 

manufacture  of,  131 

decorated,  134,  136 

large  vessels  of,  159,  160 

trowels,  162 

kilns,  46,  135 

of  Mississippi,  156 

of  Illinois,  50,  61 

of  Missouri,  61,  158 

of  Arkansas,  94,  146,  158 

of  Figians,  173 

of  Pueblos,  357 

burial  casket,  29,  30 

beads,  230 

pipes,  180,  181,  190 

images  of,  99, 100 

bottle,  171 
Powell,  Major  J.  W.,  10,  30,  59,  152,  325, 

331,  340,  345,  349 
Priapus,  worship  of,  109,  110 
Pueblo  architecture,  65,  67,  68,  360 
Pueblo  arts,  130,  131,  360,  357 
Pueblo  pottery,  357 
Pueblo  burials,  35,  38 
Pueblo  totems  or  emblems.  63 
Pueblos,  early  knowledge  of,  24 
Putnam,  Prof.  F.  W.,  27,  28,  31,  34,  49, 
58,  70,  73,  119,  ,122,  138,  139,  140, 
152,  183,  269,  286,  299,  300,  355 

Roberval,  the  discoverer,  8 
Eobertson,  historian,  8 
Ramsey's  history,  19 
Rattles  of  terra  cotta,  164 
Rau,  Dr.  C,  23 
Relics  of  De  Soto,  59,  303 
Religious  ideas.  111,  112 
Riggs,  C.  W.,  95 
Riggs  portrait  bowl,  94 
Rings  of  pottery,  167,  168 
Rings  of  stone,  286,  287,  288 
Rock  shelf  houses,  47 

Sacred  houses  of  natives,  70 
Safford,  Prof.  J.  M.,  267 
Salt  manufacture  of,  82,  159 
Savannah  works,  43 
Schumacher,  Paul,  194 
Scepters  of  stone,  241,  244 
Scrapers,  224 


Sellers,  Col.  George  E.,  159,  217 

Serpent  emblems,  96 

Serpent  gorgets,  332,  334 

Serpent  totem,  166 

Settlement  of  America,  122 

Sharpener  of  stone,  263 

Shawnee  Indians,  20,  21,  22,  252,  359 

Shell  objects,  309 

Shell  beads,  317,  321,  341,  346 

Shell  cups,  310 

Shell  fork,  314 

Shell  money,  90,  318 

Shell  bracket,  316 

Shell  spoons,  312,  313 

Shell  pins,  315 

Shell  gorgets,  321 

Shoshone  Indians,  12 

Sioux  Indians,  21 

Skulls.     See  Crania. 

Smith,  Capt.  R.  D.,  302 

Smoking,  176 

Southern  Indians,  13,  14,  24,  361 

Spades  of  stone,  295 

Spatulae  of  bone,  307 

Spearheads  of  flint,  307,  319 

Spider  gorget,  335 

Spinning,  268,  271 

Spindle  whorls,  271,  272 

Spoons  of  shell,  312,  313 

Stelle,  J.  Parish.  44 

Stevenson,  James,  130,  131,  135 

St.  Louis  Academy  of  Science,  61 

Stone  barrows,  47 

Stone  fort,  41,  42 

Stone  graves,  5,  28,  29,  31,  32,  50 

age  of.  50,  361 

of  Illinois,  356 

of  Missouri,  28 
Stone  Grave  Race,  5,  19,  20,  28,  49 
Stone  trumpet  or  tube,  282 
.Sun  worship,  23,  111 
Swiss  implements,  229,  260 
Swords  of  flint,  237,  238 
Symbol  of  cross,  299,  301,  302,  329,  345 
Symbolism,  332,  336,  345 

Table  of  stone,  289 
Tablets,  pierced,  291,  293 
Tatoo  marks,  94,  349 
Tecumseh,  Indian  chief,  22 
Ten  Kate,  Dr.,  35,  120 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


369 


Teocalli  of  Mexico,  356 

Terra  cotta  beads,  320 

Terra  cotta  bottle,  171 

Terra  cotta  figures,  167 

Terry,  James,  202,  203 

Thomas,  Dr.  Cyrus,  19,  20,  59,  72, 
129,  178,  193,  304,  342 

Tobacco,  176 

Totems,  167,  245,  246,  250 
of  the  bird,  291,  308,  327 
of  the  crawfish,  248,  249 
of  the  turtle,  165,  247,^  250 

Towns  of  natives,  51,  52,  53 

Trade,  aboriginal,  79,  83,  84 

Traders,  French,  16 

Trees,  growth  and  age  of,  50,  55 

Troost,  Dr.  Gerard,  28,  60,  80,  109 

Trowels  of  pottery,  162 

Trowels  for  plastering,  76,  163 

Tubes  of  stone,  280,  285 

Tubes,  medicine,  281 

Turtle  of  terra  cotta,  165 

Turtle  of  flint,  250 

Turtle  family,  247 


73, 101, 


Tamlin,  Col.  Lewis,  186 
Tuscaluza,  the  chief,  96 
Tylor,  Dr.  E.  B.,  348 

Ulloa,  the  Spanish  governor,  8 

Verrazano,  7 
Yincennes,  town  of,  7 

Walled  towns  of  natives,  51,  52 
Wampum,  90,  318,  319 
Warfare,  Indian,  19 
Weaving,  268,  293,  300 
Whistle  of  stone,  283 
Whistle  of  bone,  284 
Whorls,  spinning,  267-271,  272 
Wilder,  Gen'l  J.  T.,  179,  180,  201,273 
AVilson,  Sir  Daniel,  20,  121 
Winchell,  Prof.  A.,  348,  355 
Woman  in  Pictograph,  91,  93 
Wood,  remains  of,  49 

Zuni  Indians,  101,  130,  131,  174,  352,  359 
cradles  of,  113,  114 
implements,  255 


^^^^  yoJU 


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